Thank you Takshanuk Watershed Council for bringing Gregg K. Erickson to Haines so that the community could hear about the potential economic impacts of a large-scale mine upstream of Haines, Klukwan and the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Gregg’s list of qualifications is impressive; his career researching the economics of mining in Alaska spans over five decades. That is why I was initially surprised to find that the Chilkat Valley Mining Forum Committee had twice turned down Gregg as a speaker. Perhaps it is because one of the main take-away points of Gregg’s presentation was that “when analyzed for income, unemployment and poverty, a majority of small towns experienced negative economic outcomes after the mining activity concluded.” This conclusion does not coincide with the unstated, yet palpable, pro-mine bias of the Chilkat Valley Mining Forum Committee.

Here is a suggestion: Let’s make the 2020 Forum a two-day event. On day one, the Chilkat Valley (Pro-) Mining Forum Committee would invite speakers to town to tout the money and jobs that the mine would bring. On day two, the Takshanuk Watershed Council and other groups would invite speakers to Haines to discuss the real possibility of catastrophic dam failure and acid mine drainage, social impacts like increased crime and drugs, and long-term threats to eco-tourism, subsistence values, and commercial fishing. By looking at the proposed mine from all sides, citizens and our elected officials will be better able to make informed decisions.

Joe Ordonez