Advocates in Alaska’s Interior warned a proposed gold mine on the Johnson Tract in Lake Clark National Park threatens critical habitat ecosystems and a large chunk of the state’s economy.
Contango Silver and Gold Mining Inc. said it will be sensitive to the environment while creating jobs. Contango is working with Alaska Native-owned Cook Inlet Region Inc. to establish the mine at the headwaters of the Johnson River, a prime spot for commercial and sportfishing, bear watching, salmon runs and ecotourism.
David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, contended the environmental risk is not worth the economic reward, especially when the bulk of the profit from the mine flows to out-of-state investors, including asset management companies like BlackRock and Vanguard.
“Why would you risk a 100% Alaskan economic engine that’s sustainable and just keeps providing benefits year after year for something that’s temporary, and most of the economic benefit is likely to go elsewhere outside of the state of Alaska?” Jenkins asked.
Contango countered the mine will create 175 jobs for the first three years of the project but the number will dwindle after peak mine production. Jenkins argued relatively small job creation is shortsighted considering the thousands of jobs and billions of dollars created by ecotourism in the area — a “stark economic contrast,” Jenkins stressed. Cook Inlet Region Inc. was granted rights to the 21,000-acre Johnson Tract within Lake Clark National Park in the 1970s as part of a land agreement.
Some members of the Indigenous community believe they would benefit from the project but Jenkins emphasized short-term profit cannot outweigh the unbalanced economic factors nor the scar Contango would inflict on the Alaska Interior’s ecosystem.
“These places are pristine. They’re rare things. You just don’t find that in the Lower 48. You don’t even find it in a lot of places around the world. The biological diversity and abundance is just stunning,” Jenkins underscored.
Environmental groups and the Chickaloon Tribal Council have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over alleged Clean Water Act violations by granting a permit for the Johnson Tract project, which is still in the permitting process but scheduled for completion in the spring of 2028.
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