December 19, 2014 — President Obama's decision to permanently protect Alaska's Bristol Bay and adjacent lands from oil and gas drilling is so clearly the correct decision that the only objections will come from those whose sole interest is the welfare of those two energy industries.
The area in southern Alaska is home to walrus, sea otters and several kinds of whales, grizzly bears, wolverines and many other species. It's a popular tourist attraction too. But perhaps above all, Bristol Bay is the nation's fishing net, just as California's Central Valley is the nation's food basket. Forty percent of the wild seafood consumed in the United States comes from the bay, which has the world's largest sockeye salmon run, a sign of a particularly well-managed fishery.
The combined economic contribution of fishing and tourism in the region outstrips by many times over the total amount that oil and gas exploration would provide. That makes the president's decision economically sound as well as environmentally important.
Read the full editorial at the LA Times