Clean water initiatives aimed at Pebble could reach far beyond

Supporters of a handful of mining-related ballot initiatives are traveling the state in a race to gather the signatures they need to put the measures to a vote.

With a pair of “Alaska Clean Water” initiatives and two others, they aim to stop or at least slow the development of a mine at Pebble, the giant deposit of copper, gold and molybdenum near Lake Iliamna in southwest Alaska. They say the state’s environmental laws aren’t strong enough to protect the local salmon streams against a massive mine and argue Alaskans will have to choose which they value more — mining or fish.

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