Pebble EIS now mid-February
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the release date of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the big Pebble copper/gold/molybdenum mine was pushed back from late January to mid-February. The DEIS is an important federal regulatory step for Pebble.

Meanwhile, Pebble Partnership, the development company, has set out its best estimates for the number and types of operations jobs if Pebble is developed:

Estimated direct and contract jobs

Mine	290
Process plant	240
Support operations	60
Water treatment	32
Catering and camp	80
Power plant	24
Trucking	36
Ferry terminals	24
Ferry operations	12
Port operations	60
Lighter tug operation	12
Port side administration	20
Administration	48
Total	938

Sitka tribe sues on fishing rights
An Alaska Native tribe in Sitka filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Fish and Game and the state Board of Fisheries alleging the state’s denial of priority subsistence fishing rights in the Sitka herring roe fishery. Sealaska Corp., the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida and other regional tribal groups are supporting the suit, which was filed by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. The suit could be an important test case on Native subsistence over commercial uses in state fisheries.