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Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Weekly Post, NO PEBBLE MINE: Pictures from Ground Zero by Robert Glenn Ketchum (#401+)

NO PEBBLE MINE Pictures from Ground Zero
by Robert Glenn Ketchum

 
Since 1998, I have been working to protect the spectacular resources of southwest Alaska and the fishery of Bristol Bay. Two Aperture books, a national traveling exhibition, a massive coalition of concerned users, and a lot of personal lobbying, had it looking like we were almost there. Then Donald Trump took office claiming he would always put America, and American jobs first. SO WHY destroy a BILLION-dollar-a-year, RENEWABLE salmon fishery and over 100,000 jobs for a group of international mineral speculators that will leave us with a Superfund site to clean up, and NO fishery left edible? And yet, he did,..so please, keep saying NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!
~Robert Glenn Ketchum




Tuesday, November 3, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE , Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #425:
I spend a considerable amount of the day wandering in the weeds, and given the results (this, and last three posts) it has been a much better thing to do than to stay in my room at the inn and watch TV. Around midday the rain turned to a drizzle, and now in late afternoon, the rain has stopped entirely. The dense fog has lifted, and there is a gentle breeze coming in from the Pacific. The skies overhead still look dark and stormy, but it feels like this spate of weather has passed, and I am thinking that air transportation will resume tomorrow, so likely I will be headed home to LA. With that thought in mind, and the chill of the evening settling in on me, I call it a day, head back to the inn, switch out of my damp clothes, and walk to The Muddy Rudder restaurant for one last dinner pig-out. It is one, so stuffed on giant pork chops, I take one last walk about town, before turning in.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, October 27, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #424, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #424:
As I will learn in future Alaskan adventures, the tundra comes a varied forms of diversity. It also is a rich fall experience, wherever it is located, A blog I will eventually post regards a float trip from Gates of Arctic, down the Noatak River, and it was late in the season, so the tundra was ablaze. Being much farther north, however, it was far less lush and biodiverse. Here in Southwest, the warmer clime, and the immense amount of rain, has created a Garden of Eden that is especially outrageous in the throes of fall. This is no place for the Pebble mine, proposed to be the largest open-pit mine in the world, nor for the vast acres of of toxic slurry that would be contained in open ponds, poisoning wildlife, and waiting for a major earthquake to set in free to flow into Bristol Bay and destroy the most productive fishery left in North America. PLEASE, SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE. Preserve the bio-diversity, clean air and water, and the food resources of Southwest Alaska.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, October 20, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #423, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #423:
The weather rages all night, and it grows really cold. When I awake in the morning the rain has let up, but the town is socked in to the ground. On my walk to breakfast I can barely see the buildings across the narrow street. There is a TV newscast on in the restaurant, and it appears the storm has fogged out most of southern Alaska, and the airport in Anchorage is canceling scheduled flights. By the time I finish my meal, I feel certain Pennair will not be coming to Dillingham today, and by the time I get back to the inn, that has been confirmed by a call from the airlines to the front desk at the inn. I don’t want to spend the day staring at the TV in my room, and since it not raining, I take my camera and drive around making more pictures of vegetation that I do not need, but with these colors, how can I resist?

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, October 13, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #422, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #422:
Mike Harder, and I, finish our long afternoon flight back in Dillingham, and I say my goodbyes, thanking him profusely for assisting me with my project. I know it is likely I will never see him again, as my four years of working in Southwest will conclude when I fly to Anchorage, and on to LA, tomorrow. For the time being, however, I have a room waiting for me at the Bristol Inn, and I am planning one last pig-out at The Muddy Rudder for dinner. I wind down once I have checked in, and then walk through town to the restaurant, taking in the neighborhood that has become SO familiar. During dinner, the evening wears on, and the western horizon grows darker, filling with clouds. This typically indicates a weather system approaching from the North Pacific, which happens rather routinely in Dillingham. By the time I have a few drinks in my favorite bar, and begin the walk back to the inn. The system has arrived, and a light rain is starting to fall. Before I am asleep, though, the rainfall has increased to a wind-driven downpour that actually howls, storming through the alley behind my lodge.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, October 6, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #421, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #421:
As my flight draws closer to Dillingham, the mountains drop away, and the rivers, and wetlands define the landscape. This is the heart of some of the most desirable freshwater, recreational fishing in the world. While not as large an income resource as the commercial fishery of Bristol Bay, the recreational industry still employs hundreds of people, and earns millions of dollars. Dozens, upon dozens, of lodges host large staffs to make their operations successful. To pamper the high-paying guests, there are guides, pilots, boatmen, GREAT chefs, housekeeping staff, and the administrators that tie them all together. There are also mechanics that keep everything running, and flying. Some lodges, like Tikchik Narrows Lodge, even have professional fly-tying staff, that sample the insects of the day, and create the appropriate flys for the guests to use the next morning. After dinner, these “tyers,” often attract an audience in the lodge, while they work. It is amazing to see them craft these lures, and everyone enjoys their wine while watching.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, September 29, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #420, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #420:
At the time of this flight, the colors of fall are only just beginning to show, so I thought I would post this from a previous year, to remind you of what an amazing spectacle this landscape becomes, when fall does arrive. For a brief 10-14 days, vibrant hues flash across the terrain and set it aglow. I do not exaggerate when I say 10-14 days, either. When I spent a peak fall at Tikchik Narrows Lodge, every morning when I would wake up, the colors would have changed during the cold and/or rain of the night. On flights, territory we flew over yesterday, or the day before, would have completely shifted their palette in some way. It would probably make a mind boggling time-lapse film.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, September 22, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #419, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #419:
As my flight leaves the rugged summits of the Wood Mountains, it arrives at the point where Wood-Tikchik State Park, begins to broaden out, and become more expansive. The mountains are no longer granite spires, instead they are rounded, and covered with dense vegetation. Streams wetlands, and rivers, are to be seen everywhere. It is not fall, as yet, but we are late in the season, and I can see the hint of the coming colors, starting to creep into the hillsides. I am sad because I will miss the spectacle this year, and likely, I will not be back, but thanks to my 4yrs. of work in Southwest, and this park in particular, I will be able to savor the richness of my experience through my imagery. What a gift to me this project has been to my life.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, September 22, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #419, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #419:
As my flight leaves the rugged summits of the Wood Mountains, it arrives at the point where Wood-Tikchik State Park, begins to broaden out, and become more expansive. The mountains are no longer granite spires, instead they are rounded, and covered with dense vegetation. Streams wetlands, and rivers, are to be seen everywhere. It is not fall, as yet, but we are late in the season, and I can see the hint of the coming colors, starting to creep into the hillsides. I am sad because I will miss the spectacle this year, and likely, I will not be back, but thanks to my 4yrs. of work in Southwest, and this park in particular, I will be able to savor the richness of my experience through my imagery. What a gift to me this project has been to my life.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, September 15, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #418, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #418:
I have posted this image before, way back in the 200’s of this blog, but I am putting it up again, because it is the essence of the beauty in Wood-Tikchik State Park. It was also taken while flying with pilots from Bud Hodson’s Tikchick Narrows Lodge. Along with Mike Harder, a pilot out of Dillingham, with whom I frequently worked, Bud, and his numerous pilots, provided me with hours of airtime above this park. Bud operates a small fleet of Beaver aircraft, which are used to transport his fly-fishing guests to-and-from their daily destinations. Bud not only allowed me to fly those to-and-from routes along with them, he then allowed me to fly in the many hours the planes would normally sit idle, between drop-off and pick-up. These pilots, and many, many others, generously supported my work in Southwest because they uniformly oppose the development of the Pebble mine in the headwaters of the last great fishery in North America, Bristol Bay. Thousands of jobs, and MILLIONS of dollars are to be made from the renewable resources of this fishery. The mine will exist for 30-years, and then close, leaving a massive, toxic lake to poison the habitat. DO NOT let this happen, SAY NO THE THE PEBBLE MINE!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, September 8, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #417, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #417:
Our flight has now come over the top of the Wood Mountain Range in Wood-Tikchik State Park, and we are descending into the valley/lake terrain that is the heart of this landscape. I want to take this opportunity to thank the pilot, Mike Harder, with whom I am flying today, as I have flown with him several times before, and today is one of the best of them. Mike maintains a hanger, and a small store at the Dillingham airport, and has several planes there, including a huge cargo transport rumored to be used for special ops missions. We always have fun when we are in the air together, because he is as enthusiastic about the beauty of Southwest as I am, and he gets what I am doing. As subject matter comes into view, he will notice what I am looking at, and turn the plane to better suit my perspective. It is a unique “team” skill. Mike, and Bud Hodson, the owner of Tikchik Narrows Lodge, have provided me with hours of airtime that have made my work in Southwest, and Wood-Tikchik State Park in particular, the success that it is. Again, thanks to both of you.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, September 1, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #416, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #416:
As my flight heads back to Dillingham, we have left the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge behind us, and we are now threading our way through the spiky ridgelines, and hanging glaciers, of the Wood Mountains in Wood-Tikchik State Park. In all of Alaska, of the many places I have flown over and hiked, or floated through, this park is my favorite destination. The variety, and diversity of this complex terrain are unequalled, and in the fall, the spectacle of color is, quite literally, unbelievable,..psychedelic! This range is a maze of ragged peaks, and meandering river valleys, that host a myriad of wildlife and fish. The waters that come from the park contribute to 1/3 of the flow into Bristol Bay, and the flow from Tikchik Lake, one of many in the park, eventually joins with the Nushagak, the second most productive river that feeds into the Bristol Bay fishery.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 25, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #415, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #415:
Dead ahead, my flight goes into the heart of the Wood Mountains, and we enter the wonderous world of Wood-Tikchik State Park. The spire-filled teeth of the summits stab into the sky, and blue glowing glacial faces, generate streaming rivers from their melt. That water flows into a dizzying myriad of lakes, before it goes to Bristol Bay, where it feeds the last great fishery left in North America. 5 species of Salmon, Pollock, Herring, Oysters, Clams, Scallops, Pacific Cod, King crab, Halibut, Blackcod, Groundfish, Geoducks, and sea cucumbers, are ALL part of this commercial saltwater fishery, and in the freshwater streams and rivers, several species of trout, Arctic char, Steelhead, Graying, and Sheefish, are part of a huge recreational fishing industry. At a time when all of this is threatened by the extremely toxic mine proposal called the Pebble, who will have a 30-year life span (at best) and then leave the habitat poisoned, the ANNUALLY RENEWABLE fishery just had its single most productive season EVER, harvesting 56.5 million salmon, worth $306.5 million, and employing thousand people in several states. If you truly want to Make America Great, do so by SAYING NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE. Harvest sustainably forever, and tell the outsider-Canadian mining firm, Northern Dynasty, to get out, and go FU their own backyard if they are so eager to dig big holes, and create poisonous lakes.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 18, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #414, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #414:
The subtle tones of the late fall at alpine, and the last pocket lake I will see in the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge pass by as my flight now begins to climb a bit, lifting up and over the much more ragged summits of Wood-Tikchik State Park. As sad as I am that I may never see this landscape again, which I have SO enjoyed for the last four years, I am excited to soon be above Wood-Tikchik. Wood-Tikchik, in reflection, is the single greatest destination in all of my Alaska experiences, and I am going to get one final overview. The remarkable chain of glacier carved lakes, the spiky peaks of the Wood mountains, the ASTOUNDING fall coloration of the landscape, and the dramatic, constantly changing weather made EVERY single day I spent in this park, among the best days of my life. I am especially grateful to have befriended, and been hosted by Bud Hodson, the owner of Tikchik Narrows Lodge. On the ground, and in the air, he, and his crew of pilots, allowed me access to view one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. The idea that parts of Southwest Alaska could be invaded by toxic industrialization is appalling, and must not be allowed to happen,..ANYWHERE, but certainly starting with the proposed travesty of the Pebble mine. Please defy our jackass President, and defend the Bristol Bay fishery, and headwaters, from being disrupted by a proven, careless Canadian mining group Northern Dynasty. Tell both of them to get out of the lives of Alaskans that actually respect the land into which they were born. SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE! Say yes to the tribes, the hunters, the fishermen, and the red gold of the largest salmon fishery in North America. Make America Great Again, in the right way.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 11, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #413, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #413:
The last of the more gently rolling summits of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge are now below our wings, and the more ragged peaks of Wood-Tikchik State Park are quickly coming up. This is probably my last visit to this amazing habitat, because after my return to Dillingham tonight, I am flying out to my home and studio in Los Angeles, where I will begin work on my second Aperture book about this area, Wood-Tikchik: Alaska’s Largest State Park. These last few images of this blog also mark the end of it, after posting EVERY week for over 8yrs. In the 9-years of being on the board of the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and prior to that, working in the Tongass rainforest, I have traveled, and tripped extensively throughout the state, so new blogs will appear about those experiences which include, kayak camping in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, floating the Noatak River from Gates of Arctic to Kobuk Valley National Park, numerous trips to Camp Denali in Denali National Park, and endless miles of driving around on the roads of the 100-mile-square, Chugach Mountain Range, that graces the view from Anchorage.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, August 4, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #412, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #412:
In this amazing world of water, lakes, and rivers that stretch across the landscape as far as the eye can see, when you are in the air above it all, the scale is impressive, but the most striking aspect is how the water reflects the sky. Some days under a bright overcast, every wet surface shimmers with a silvery light. On blue-sky days, the colors of the sky intensify the blueness of the water, and on this particular day (above), the color is a little bit of both. In my mind, this is a kind of abstract surrealism. This is not a place, it is three forms, and it is unlikely any paint ever offered a silver-blue like that. Wowser! Mahalo, Togiak!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 28, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #411, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #411:
Ahead of us, I can now see the summits of the Wood Mountains, their profiles being more ragged and spire-like than the rounded massifs of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. For the moment, however, the last few glorious miles of the refuge are below our wings. This expansive landscape of lakes and rivers is an incredible aerial experience, and I feel so lucky to have flown above it many times. Floating, and boating, the rivers made it up-close-and-personal, where I could see the fish, bears, caribou, and wolves, as well as eat the wild berries, but your point of view is “land-locked,” you cannot take in the terrain in all its vast scale, as you can when flying. Four years ago, when Jan Konigsberg first brought me to Southwest, we flew into Dillingham on a rainy day with low clouds. We were well into the territory, before the flight descended beneath the cloud ceiling, and the landscape was revealed. I distinctly remember my first view of dozens of lakes and rivers sprawling across the rolling tundra as far as the eye could see, and Jan said to me, “What do you think?” My response was, “It looks like A LOT to deal with.” At the time, I had no idea what an understatement that was.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 21, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #410, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #410:
While my flight heads back to Dillingham after a spectacular afternoon, I am trying to take in the last four years of being in Southwest Alaska and what a gift that has been to me. I have hiked, floated, and flown over, one of the most untouched, and vast, landscapes in North America. It is a world teaming with life, both on the land, and in the water. Its primary human inhabitants are still connected to the land, and are, literally, living off of it. Not far ahead now, we will leave the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, and enter the Wood Mountains and Wood-Tikchik State Park, so for the moment I look back at the refuge in the late light to see the water-pocked landscape shimmering in silver, and the forest-islands standing tall, undisturbed. What a world!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 14, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #409, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #409:
Backpacking in the lower ’48, I fished virtually every day, so it is amazing to me that here in Southwest, one of the world class places to fly fish, I only did so a few times. I was “working” most of the time, and that is my excuse, but as we fly above these beautiful rivers systems, it strikes me as ironic. I love the way the low rays of the late light grace the landscape, and in this case make the mountain more sculpturally defined, like a work of art on an illuminated pedestal. All of that offset by blue sky reflection on some epic meandering trout water. It WOULD be quite an evening to be fishing down there, but is also pretty cool to be right where I am. I will miss these parks and refuges, and I would like to thank Jan Konigsberg who first suggested I fly out here to view this part of the state. It is an understatement that he said, “I think you will find it interesting."

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, July 7, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #408, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #408:
As my flight gets further from the coast, the cloudy skies are more broken, and spots of sunlight illuminate the landscape in dramatic ways. I love working from the air because you see the terrain in such a different way, grander and more encompassing. We are still above part of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge but are turning towards Wood-Tikchik State Park. Rather than the more closely packed summits I think of as a range, the mountains here are massifs that stand alone,.. perhaps they are social distancing - LOL! Whatever, it makes for a GREAT afternoon of flying, and it is likely I will never see these places again because after long summers in Southwest, two Aperture books, and eventually a national traveling museum exhibit, my “work” here is finished. Besides, Alaska is a huge state, and there are many others parts of it I hope to explore. At this moment, however, I am “in the moment,” and it is good to be here now.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 30, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #407, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #407:
My final flightsee over Southwest Alaska has paralleled the shoreline of Bristol Bay from the mouth of the Kvichak River to the mouth of the Negukthlik, flowing out of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. As it is getting late, we are now wending our way back to Dillingham, through the mountains of the refuge and Wood-Tikchik State Park. The weather is being kind, leaving me with enough light to shoot, and although I have overflown some of this terrain previously, it is ever-changing, and always interesting. This valley (above) has numerous small lakes, and around the bend up ahead, we will emerge onto a broader plain surrounded by mountains, dotted with more lakes, and flowing with rivers.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 23, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #406, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #406:
Our flight has left the coast, following the Negukthlik River into the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. The river meanders wildly beneath our wings, winding its way through the landscape, and at the point where we will soon loose our view of the Pacific, I look back to see the river’s path illuminated by the reflection of the still-bright sky. It is more stormy further into the refuge, so I am not sure when we get there that I will have enough light to work with, but I remain hopeful because I know we are going to work our way through several mountain ranges, and part of Wood-Tikchik State Park, and these will be my last parting views of some places I have come to love dearly. As the American public, we need to be sure and say no the Canadian company, Northern Dynasty, that wants to develop the Pebble mine, and certainly SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 16, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #405, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #405:
Finally leaving the coast and turning inland, we cross a bay with the Negukthlik River estuary at its head, and begin to follow the river into the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. It is a large river and wetlands complex, but not particularly imposing, just one that meanders quietly along, splitting into occasional braids, and weaving through a myriad of ponds. My pilot thinks there are salmon moving up this system, because we see several bear on the beaches of the river, and in a territory this vast, bears seldom congregate unless they have good reason. The weather remains kind to us, and the long Alaskan evening still offers plenty of light for me to shoot, so now we will soon visit a very different terrain.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 9, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #404, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #404:
The incredible rugged coast of cliffs, scalloped bays, and hidden beaches, just keeps unfolding as our flight heads farther along the shoreline of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. The afternoon is getting late, however, and although it is giving me some beautiful light, we will soon leave the coast, head into the refuge and begin to wend our way back to Dillingham. As a huge new bay opens in front of us, the bluffs flatten, and the ragged shore abates, but we are running out of time, and there is still a good deal more to this tour, so we choose not to explore this crescent of beaches, rather crossing the mouth of the bay to another jutting peninsula, and passing between it and the offshore, Summit Island. We finally turn into a bay with a sizable river at its head. This is the Negukthlik Bay and estuary, and we will follow this river into the heart of the refuge. What an evening it has been out here on the coast, but the show is not over.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, June 2, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #403, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #403:  After our flight crosses over the mouth of Metervick Bay, we encounter the most sculpted part of the coast we have seen so far. Tundra headlands slope down to the azure sea, and then steep bluffs plunge onto scalloped coves and beaches. Except for birds, there is little sign of other life. It seems otherworldly. My pilot flies cargo mission all over the world, and he could base anywhere he wants, as he has some very wealthy friends that use his services, but he has told me he chooses to live in Dillingham because when he flies for his on personal pleasure, it is places like this, and Wood-Tikchik State Park in the fall, that are like no other landscape in the world to look down upon. I have now been flying southwest Alaska enough to know what he is talking about. This is NO PLACE FOR THE F%&$ING PEBBLE MINE! Please say NO!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, May 26, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #402, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #402:  Our flight crosses the mouth of Metervik Bay, and although we will ultimately head north, at the moment the convoluted coastline we parallel, is pointing in a southerly direction as it juts out into the expanse of Bristol Bay. A good distance offshore, I can see a scattering of islands, the two largest of which are High Island, and Crooked Island. Although we do not fly out to see them, my pilot tells me they are seldom visited, and thus have become massive bird rookeries because they lack predators. The day is getting late, and we will soon turn inland over the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge before heading back to Dillingham. My pilot and I have flown that territory before, so tonight he promises to take me over a different part of the refuge's vast expanse (4,102,537 acres), but he suggests that on some future flight, I might want to see yet another treasure of the Bristol Bay/Southwest Alaska territory, the Cape Newenham State Wildlife Refuge. Jutting dramatically out into Bristol Bay, the cape is a refuge within a refuge, and most consider it part of Togiak. At the extreme tip there is a long range radar station and a small airstrip managed by the US Air Force, but the rest of the ragged peninsula is for the birds, literally. Sadly, this is one place I never have the chance to visit.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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Tuesday, May 19, 2020 

NO PEBBLE MINE #401, Pictures from Ground Zero
NO PEBBLE MINE #401:  Our flight has paralleled the arc of Kulukak Bay and is now following the shoreline towards the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. It is a rugged, convoluted coastline, and spectacular to look down upon from a low and slow aerial view. There are no people to be seen, but there are a lot of birds, and much evidence of animals, especially bear. There are beautiful coves and beaches, and occasionally even some lines of surf wrapping perfectly around rocky points. This one (above) separates Kulukak Bay from Metervik Bay and just as we round the tip of it, the off-coast clouds, part letting the late sun through, and lighting it up for me. I gasp as my shutter clicks, and my pilot smiles because we have flown together several times before, and he knows today is putting on a real show, so I am pumped. We are more than an hour into this leisurely flight, and it has just been an ever-changing spectacle of pristine coast. Truly, WILD Alaska!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2020, @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd @NRDC @OrvisFlyFishing #NoPebbleMine #LittleBearProd

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