Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2012

Contact:
Carmell Shade, Communications Specialist, Bristol Bay Native Corporation
cshade@bbnc.net or (907) 278-3602

Tim Bristol, Trout Unlimited, Alaska Program, Director
tbristol@tu.org or (907) 321-3291

BBNC partners with Bristol Bay River Academy, Trout Unlimited, PenAir and Project Healing Waters in Thanking Veterans for Service to Country

Alaska veterans and active duty soldiers are about to embark on a dream fishing trip – even by Alaskans’ standards.

Bristol Bay Native Corporation will host eight veterans and soldiers to go on a five-day, all-expenses-paid trip to its Mission Lodge, an upscale fishing lodge located in Aleknagik, near Dillingham, Alaska. BBNC also will award internships to top students of the Bristol Bay River Academy, which is operated by Trout Unlimited and provides sportfishing guide and conservation training to youths – mostly Alaska Natives – in the Bristol Bay region.

The Anchorage chapter of Project Healing Waters is coordinating with the disabled veterans, some of whom remain on active duty. PenAir is providing the veterans with air transportation out of Anchorage. The trip will take place June 18-22.

The veterans will stay at the Mission Lodge, and will travel by float plane to several world-class sportfishing areas in the Bristol Bay region. Graduates of the Bristol Bay River Academy will guide the veterans. King salmon are returning to the waters of Bristol Bay, and fishing should be excellent.

“The Mission Lodge and local Bristol Bay fishing opportunities offer the perfect environment to help military personnel take in the natural beauty of Alaska,” said Jason Metrokin, president and CEO of BBNC. “It is a place for reflection and peace, not to mention some of the best fishing in all of Alaska. We are proud to be able to support our veterans.”

“Trout Unlimited is pleased to help support this opportunity to show our appreciation to wounded warriors who have put their lives on the line for our country,” said Tim Bristol, director of Trout Unlimited, Alaska Program. “Bristol Bay offers spectacular sportfishing and we’re excited to have graduates of our Bristol Bay River Academy team up with these veterans to fly-fish together and offer instruction where needed. We’re very proud of both our graduates and our vets, and it’s a special thing to have them pair up, especially here, home to one of the great wild fisheries left on the planet.”

The veterans and soldiers who are participating are actively involved with Project Healing Waters. The program seeks to aid disabled active duty military personnel and veterans recover physically and emotionally through fishing opportunities and skills workshops focused on activities such as fly-tying and casting.

The veterans and soldiers were invited on the Bristol Bay trip as a way to thank them for their service, said Laura Orr, soldier and public relations manager with Project Healing Waters. “They are so excited right now.”

Orr said she has personally seen success stories thanks to the program. “I’ve seen people who were depressed, have just about given up,” she said. “Then they try this and they have that ‘Aha!’ moment. Now they are open and friendly. It really helps them relax and make good memories again. Seeing that moment is amazing.”

Mission Lodge is owned by Bristol Bay Native Corporation. This is the first season of the lodge’s operations under BBNC ownership. The lodge operated as a mission school for nearly half a century, and was converted into a first-class fishing lodge in 1984. Mission Lodge offers an exceptional experience with upscale comfort and fly-in access to some of the best wild salmon, rainbow trout and other native species in the world.

Bristol Bay Native Corporation is one of 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The corporation has over 9,000 Eskimo, Aleut and Athabascan shareholders with ancestral ties to the Bristol Bay region. More information can be found at www.bbnc.net.

Trout Unlimited’s Alaska Program works to preserve, protect and restore wild salmon and trout populations throughout Alaska. Through sound scientific data, strong grassroots outreach and advocacy, and hands-on involvement in conservation projects we protect some of the most pristine and prized rivers on the planet, restore those that need some help, and engage the next generation of coldwater stewards in Alaska’s natural heritage.

The Bristol Bay River Academy (formerly the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy) merges salmon and river education, with recreation and conservation principles to educate, engage and inspire Bristol Bay young adults to become local leaders in salmon stewardship and prepared for jobs based on healthy salmon in their home rivers. BBNC and Trout Unlimited, Alaska Program, are among the academy’s program sponsors.

Founded in 1955, PenAir offers passenger and cargo services to several rural Alaska communities, primarily between Anchorage and the Alaska Peninsula, and points in the Aleutian Islands.

Learn more about Project Healing Waters at www.projecthealingwaters.org and about the Bristol Bay River Academy.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2012

Contact: Guy Fullhart, General Manager
(800)-819-0750 or guy@missionlodge.com

Mission Lodge Under New Ownership

We at Mission Lodge have exciting news to share from the shores of Lake Aleknagik in Alaska’s beautiful Bristol Bay watershed. In May 2012, long-time owner Dale DePriest successfully closed a sale of the Mission Lodge to Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC). The sale helped DePriest realize an important retirement goal while at the same time assuring the continuation of his vision for the Mission Lodge. “The sale returns the property to local, Alaska Native ownership and provides new and exciting opportunities for my dear friends Guy and Sarah Fullhart,” said DePriest.

BBNC is seeking opportunities to invest in the Bristol Bay region and tourism has been an area of interest for some time. “We are very excited to have re-entered the region through a tourism investment and believe we have found a great fit with the Mission Lodge and Guy and Sarah Fullhart,” said BBNC President & CEO Jason Metrokin.

BBNC is a strong advocate for conservation and responsible development, and is a leader in the fight against the Pebble mine that threatens Bristol Bay waters and fisheries. “We are very focused on protecting Bristol Bay and I believe that the values of BBNC and very much in line with the customers of the Mission Lodge,” said Metrokin.

Guy and Sarah Fullhart have joined the BBNC team and will continue to manage the lodge operations. “We are very happy to be a part of BBNC and are really pleased that their vision is to keep the Mission Lodge unchanged. Our guests can expect the same feel and exceptional experience that they have come to know and love,” said Sarah Fullhart. “We all share a common bond and love for this incredible region of Alaska. This new chapter for Mission Lodge more tightly connects the lodge with the region and together will help us learn from each other and strengthen our common fight to protect this land for many generations to come,” said Guy Fullhart.

About Mission Lodge: The Mission Lodge is one of Alaska’s premier sports fishing lodges located in the Bristol Bay in the village of Aleknagik. Mission Lodge offers unparalleled fishing opportunities for all five species of wild pacific salmon, trophy rainbow trout and numerous other species. The Mission Lodge offers an all-inclusive experience for the discerning angler and adventure traveler. More information can be found online at www.missionlodge.com.

About BBNC: BBNC is one of 13 Alaska Native Regional Corporations formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The corporation has over 9,000 Eskimo, Aleut, and Athabascan shareholders with ancestral ties to the Bristol Bay region. BBNC supports responsible resource development, defined as development that is fiscally, environmentally and socially sustainable, serving the long-term interests of our people, our region, and our businesses. More information can be found at www.bbnc.net.

Anyone who has an interest in healthy fisheries in the Bristol Bay area needs to read this. The short AND long-term health of the Bristol Bay watersheds is be threatened by ‘big mining’. The Renewable Resources Coalition is making headway, but really needs our help.

We now have before us an opportunity to vote on a very plain and simple initiative that will protect our waters and fisheries from being decimated through large scale mining operations. This initiative DOES NOT prevent mining from occurring. Rather, it puts into law the verbal commitments the mining industry has been making about their intentions in regards to Pebble and other mines that will be developed in the Bristol Bay area. The initiatives simply state that the industry can not pollute nor consume the waters of salmon streams or streams that people utilize as drinking water.

If you are not aware, the one mine that is proposed at Pebble will for everyday of its operation require the consumption of more water than Anchorage use in a day. The mining company has already applied for the water rights to ALL of the water of the Upper Talarik Creek, North Fork of the Koktuli, and the South Fork of the Koktuli. The company is currently allowed to take 115,000 gallons per day for 9 different drill sites from Upper Talarik Creek. The DNR does not know the affects of this on the drainage but is hopeful that it “will not do too much damage.” This last summer, for the first time ever, the South Fork of the Koktuli River went dry. I am no scientist, but I am sure that the survival rate of smolt and eggs is pretty low when rivers run dry.

Mr. Bob Gillam has basically been single handily financing the fight against Pebble with these initiatives. It has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars along with countless man hours to accomplish the daunting task of collecting 32,000 signatures for each initiative, fighting lawsuits against the mining industry against the initiatives, and running advertisements to help educate the general public on this issue. It is time that we, as operators, step up and help financially in this fight. There will be the need for many TV, radio, and print ads as the vote on the initiatives draws close—which looks like the vote will be in August. Mr. Gillam has pledged to match dollar for dollar, every donation that comes to the Renewable Resource Coalition to support the initiatives. This is in addition to the $1,000,000 he has already spent on this issue over the last two years.

Contact your clients with a simple email if you personally can not donate any money to this cause. The issue has received national and international attention in newspapers and magazines.

Please contact Richard Jameson at the Renewable Resources Coalition at 907-743-1900 or via email at outdoors@alaska.com to arrange for donations.