The Colorado-based Keystone Center is poised to launch a series of independent science panels that will help Alaska citizens evaluate baseline environmental and socioeconomic studies associated with the proposed Pebble mine in southwest Alaska.

In support of the annual Alaska Run for Women, the Pebble Partnership organized and hosted a simultaneous satellite event June 12, 2010, in Iliamna, Alaska, to coordinate with the popular race that raises funds each June for breast cancer awareness. Seventy percent of the funds raised during this event stay in Alaska.

The Pebble Fund’s spring 2010 cycle of grants recognized 17 projects supporting sustainable communities in Southwest Alaska. Grants totaling $842,947 have been awarded to a wide-range of projects exhibiting vision and promoting growth of vital initiatives in the region.

The Pebble Partnership continues its partnership with the University of Alaska’s, (UA), Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) with a $75,000 donation, the second installment of a five-year annual commitment. Presented by Pebble Partnership CEO, John Shively, during a spring student luncheon, the cooperative education program provides long-term career path opportunities for Alaska Native students in the fields of science and engineering.

The Pebble Partnership has launched a series of survival seminars for staff, vendors and contractors at the proposed Pebble deposit site. Conducted by Learn to Return, the Arctic Indoctrination classes focus on skills and methods for addressing critical situations in the wilderness.

The Pebble Partnership is introducing a new scholarship program aimed at providing long-term career path opportunities for Alaska students in the fields of project management, operations, geology, science, engineering and other support roles related to responsible natural resource development.

The Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) will invest up to $72.9 million in Alaska this year as part of its ongoing efforts to advance the Pebble Project toward responsible development. Among PLP’s objectives for 2010 is to work toward advancing a Prefeasibility Study (PFS) and to continue an active program at the company’s site operation in Iliamna.

Eighteen groups, including nonprofits, school districts, youth projects, and village and tribal councils, are set to receive nearly $600,000 in grants from the Pebble Fund – a charitable fund created by the Pebble Partnership and administered by the Alaska Community Foundation. This second cycle of grant awards follows a $1 million contribution made to 33 grant recipients from the Bristol Bay area in March 2009.

The Alaska State Chamber of Commerce Presented John Shively with the 2009 William A Egan Award at their annual Fall Conference and Trade Show in Homer on Tuesday.

An ongoing field program is underway at the Pebble Project this fall as a result of an additional budget allocation approved by the Pebble Partnership Board in July.  Originally slated for $59 million of program work for 2009, the board decision extends Pebble’s work footprint for the year up to $70 million. Field work includes environmental monitoring, exploration drilling, and support services.

In order to continue meeting its commitment to local hire, the Pebble Partnership has undertaken an effort in 2009 that will train Bristol Bay and local residents to help with environmental study programs.

The Pebble Partnership recently established a new bear guard and Emergency Medical Technician 3 program at the project site in Iliamna. This step should provide for local and regional employment opportunities with the project.

The Pebble Partnership welcomed the recent announcement by the Alaska Community Foundation that the first $1 million in grants from the Pebble Fund have been awarded to 33 applicants in the Bristol Bay region.

The Keystone Center – an independent, non-profit organization specializing in facilitating public discourse about contentious environmental and scientific issues – has agreed to work with the Pebble Partnership to assess options for fostering a productive and collaborative stakeholder dialogue about the Pebble Project.

Voters issued a clear vote of confidence in the State of Alaska’s water quality standards and regulatory protections for salmon and human health when they defeated Ballot Measure 4 last week, said Pebble Partnership CEO John Shively.

The Pebble Partnership today released the first installment in its Pre-Permitting Environmental & Socio-Economic Data Report Series. This installment focuses on meteorological data collected in the project area over the past three years.

The Pebble Partnership today announced that long-time Alaska business leader John Shively has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company seeking to develop a globally significant copper deposit in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska.

The Pebble Partnership today announced it will contribute $5 million to establish The Pebble Fund of Sustainable Bristol Bay Fisheries & Communities, a grant making body dedicated to enhancing fisheries and sustaining local communities in southwest Alaska.