"Dillingham, Alaska -- It is an unfortunate coincidence of geography that this lush region of wild rivers, grassy tundra and windy sea is home to two competing treasures of almost unimaginable value: the world's largest sockeye salmon run, supporting a fishery worth $440 million a year; and in the hills behind it, a massive deposit of copper, molybdemum and gold worth at least $300 billion.

With that much money at stake, preventing the construction of what could be the largest open-pit mine in North America -- at headwaters above Bristol Bay -- seems an impossible task."

Kim Murphy reports for the Los Angeles Times August 4, 2010. [2]