Alaskan filmmaker Björn Olson is sounding the alarm about a fast-tracked open-pit mine planned northwest of Nome that threatens the Imuruk Basin, a lifeline for salmon, caribou, musk oxen, and the downstream communities. Learn what’s at stake and how you can add your voice during the 30-day comment window here. Plus, watch his film, “Iglaak,” about a bike traverse through the area…

Alaska’s Seward Peninsula lies just below the Arctic Circle. The protuberant peninsula is a millennia-old home to the Inupiat Eskimo. In a recent post—while reflecting on his film Iglaak—Alaskan filmmaker and advocate Björn Olson sounded the alarm about Graphite One’s fast-tracked open-pit sulfide mine proposed in this area northwest of Nome. He notes that the downstream communities of Teller and Brevig Mission oppose the project and rely on the Imuruk Basin and surrounding uplands for subsistence, an intact nursery for salmon and other fish where moose, musk oxen, caribou, and even seals thrive. “When I close my eyes and think of a wild, untamed country, it’s places like the Imuruk Basin that come to mind,” Olson says, calling it a rare example of people living in balance with land and water.

Iglaak Film, Bjorn Olson, bikepacking Alaska
  • Iglaak Film, Bjorn Olson, bikepacking Alaska
  • Iglaak Film, Bjorn Olson, bikepacking Alaska

Clearly, this ecosystem shouldn’t be compromised for short-term gains. Björn warns, “If we do not come together to defend these lands and waters, there will soon be little of the sacred and the unspoiled left.” He urges the public to stand in solidarity with Teller and Brevig Mission and to submit comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has opened a 30-day public comment period and is considering a more limited environmental assessment instead of a full environmental impact statement.

To learn more and add your name, find the sign-on letter from Alaska Community Action on Toxics here. Also, be sure to watch Iglaak above, a short film from his traverse of the region as a reminder of what’s at stake.

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