Donald Trump Jr. is opposing Trump administration efforts to greenlight the construction of a major gold and copper mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.
“As a sportsman who has spent plenty of time in the area I agree 100%,” Trump Jr. said in a tweet Tuesday. “The headwaters of Bristol Bay and the surrounding fishery are too unique and fragile to take chances with.”
Trump Jr. was responding to a tweet from Nick Ayers, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, who also opposes the project. Ayers called on President Trump to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to block the mining project.
“A Canadian company will unnecessarily mine the USA’s greatest fishery at a severe cost,” Ayers said. “This should be stopped and I believe @POTUS will do so!”
Their opposition comes just weeks after the Army Corps of Engineers issued a final environmental analysis for the proposed mine, which would be the largest in North America, saying that it poses no serious risks. The step means the Trump administration could approve the project, which it has been seeking to advance for three years, by the end of the year.
The Obama administration had previously concluded that Pebble Mine would harm water quality and the region’s sockeye salmon. House Democrats, in a recent spending bill, included an amendment blocking the Trump administration from pursuing the project.
