Salmon Counting · Episode 8 of 8 · 32 min
Climate, Pebble Mine & Who Owns the Salmon Count
The finale asks what it all adds up to. First comes the test now underway: running AI counts against decades of human tower data to see if the machine can be trusted. Then the stakes: climate change shifting run timing and river temperatures, the Pebble Mine threat at the headwaters of Bristol Bay and its legal fight still live in 2026, and who owns and controls the count once automated eyes watch the rivers.
Who's who
- Norm Van Vactor+1 more episodeProject lead on the drone and AI effort
Where it happens
- Bristol Bay, Alaska+7 more episodesSalmon fishery with a 70-year tower count and the Pebble Mine threat
- Pebble deposit, Bristol Bay headwaters, AlaskaProposed mine site covered by EPA restrictions
Timeline
- 1955Bristol Bay counting-tower program begins.
- August 2019Heatwave and drought cause a widespread pre-spawn salmon die-off across Alaska.
- November 25, 2020Army Corps of Engineers denies Pebble's key Clean Water Act permit.
- January 30, 2023EPA issues its Final Determination restricting mine-waste disposal at the Pebble deposit.
- January 8, 2024Supreme Court declines Alaska's direct challenge to the determination.
Still debated
Pebble's future was unresolved as of July 2026, with a judge yet to rule on the consolidated challenges, and a Clean Water Act veto could in principle be revisited by a future EPA. The federal government's posture is reported inconsistently.
