World Wildlife Fund

World Wildlife Fund Board Chairman Bruce Babbitt travels to Alaska's Bristol Bay in hopes of repeating history and helping prevent oil and gas development in the region.

Part 2: Dillingham

Millions upon millions of fish swim from the Bering Sea each year through Bristol Bay to get to their spawning grounds.
© © WWF-Canon / Kevin SCHAFER

The first thing that hits you when you get to Dillingham is that the whole town is dedicated to one of the most spectacular natural events in the world - the annual run of salmon. Salmon has literally made Dillingham what it is: a major hub for fishermen and processors, and home to hundreds of native people who have fished salmon for thousands of years.

From the airport, we pass by boats yards - fishing gear piled high - and processing facilities. Amazingly, all these boats are only active for a couple months a year when the salmon are running. The rest of the time they're in dry dock.

I get to Dillingham at the very tail end of the salmon run. The center of town is now quiet except for the town's only restaurant - the Muddy Rudder. After a long day of travel, I'm starving and ask the obvious question: "Can I get some salmon?" I'm astonished to hear that the answer is "no!" Apparently there is so much salmon in Dillingham that the restaurant doesn't bother serving it, but I'll get my fill of salmon over the next few days. 

Norman Van Vactor, the manager of Peter Pan Seafoods packing plant in Dillingham which employs 320 people and contracts with nearly 300 fishing boats.

The Muddy Rudder restaurant, one of Dillingham's most famous locations.
© WWF-Canon / Tom LALLEY

Dinner with local fishermen, native people and business leaders.

Wildflowers on the banks of the Nushagak River. The reddish-purple flowers are fireweed, a beautiful sight but because they are among the last flowers to bloom. These flowers are also a sign that summer is ending.
© WWF-Canon / Tom LALLEY

Our dinner guests include fishermen, Alaska natives, scientists and the head of the largest processing plant in town. All these folks support legislation to permanently prohibit oil and gas leasing in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

As we eat, a central message becomes clear: don't mess it up. Bristol Bay is one of those exceptionally rare places in the U.S. where the ecosystem is healthy enough to support an entire economy and the folks here want to keep it that way.

Fisherman Thomas Tilden points out that fishing brings in $2.4 billion each year whereas drilling would bring in just $7.7 over 25 years. "It's just not worth the risk," he says.