As we write, tens of millions of salmon are swimming their way back to Bristol Bay. And for the second year running, those who work the 15,000 jobs the salmon provide each year can celebrate that the proposed Pebble mine no longer threatens to contaminate the headwaters of the greatest wild sockeye salmon fishery in the world. 

At least for now. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Clean Water Act protections for this amazing fishery in January 2023. That news was welcomed by residents of the region and scores of businesses that are reliant upon the Bristol Bay fishery, along with its $2.2 billion annual economic impact. Since then, Pebble and the state of Alaska have filed four lawsuits in an attempt to keep this ill-conceived, acid-producing mine on life support. Math and science aren’t on their side — not only would the mine irreversibly harm a fishery that could, if not contaminated, continue to produce and provide jobs for centuries to come, but the state of Alaska made a basic math error in one of its lawsuits, leading it to inflate the amount they’re suing American taxpayers for by $630 billion. Clearly, those seeking to exploit Bristol Bay at the risk of its sustainable fishery aren’t taking “no” for an answer.

Fortunately, on May 1, Rep. Mary Peltola introduced the Bristol Bay Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill would codify EPA’s Clean Water Act protections, which protect the headwaters of Bristol Bay, where the Pebble deposit is located, from mining activity. Rep. Peltola’s bill makes the protections Tribes, fishermen and Alaskans fought for in a decades-long battle over the fate of the world’s greatest sockeye salmon fishery more difficult to overturn by administrative action alone. Thank you, Rep. Peltola, for this much-needed legislation. 

We’ve each been involved in Bristol Bay’s fishery for decades, one in the lodge business and one running a commercial fishing and direct marketing business. One of us brings people to the fish and the other brings the fish to people. Between the two of us, we’ve got nearly 70 years of hard-won experience in Bristol Bay.  We’re not antidevelopment. We’ve both worked in Alaska’s oil fields. And we’ve both traveled to our nation’s capital to testify in front of Congress about the wonders of Bristol Bay and how it’s too valuable to risk losing. 

The proposed Pebble mine is an issue that not only cuts across party lines: it obliterates them.  The late Sen. Ted Stevens called Pebble the “wrong mine in the wrong place,” and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have both expressed their opposition to Pebble. The Army Corps of Engineers denied a key Pebble permit in 2020, during the Trump administration. These are historic positions for Alaska politicians to take, but facts, science, and public opinion are in Bristol Bay’s corner.  In addition to Alaska’s leaders (absent our current governor, Mike Dunleavy), the last three presidents of the United States have all taken actions to protect Bristol Bay and prevent the advancement of the Pebble mine. The EPA began its Clean Water Act review under Obama; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied Pebble’s permit under Trump; and the EPA finalized Clean Water Act protections under Biden. Rep. Peltola’s bill is the next,  desperately needed step. It also reflects that the majority of Alaskans have consistently opposed this uniquely dangerous project.

For roughly 20 years, the dark cloud of uncertainty that Pebble cast over the region has united local residents, subsistence, recreational and commercial fishers. That coalition, born in Bristol Bay, is backstopped by organizations, businesses and individuals from coast to coast. Over the course of this campaign, more than 4 million public comments have supported protections for Bristol Bay. Whether you’re a catch and release angler, a big game hunter, someone who loves watching the brown bears snatch salmon mid-air, or whether you just enjoy eating delicious, nutritious wild Bristol Bay sockeye, all those who have spoken in favor of protecting this amazing region can support the Bristol Bay Protection Act.

Among players who have appeared in at least 25 games this season, Tommy Splaine’s .237 batting average is at the bottom of the list for Arizona. It’s also by far the lowest of his three years at Arizona, having hit .271 as a freshman and .287 last season.

But where the junior first baseman lacks in raw numbers he more than makes up for in big plays.

It was Splaine’s single in the bottom of the 9^th inning that scored Emilio Corona to give Arizona the Pac-12 Tournament title over USC on Thursday night, part of a 2-hit game that also featured a single to open the 8^th when the Wildcats scored twice to tie it.

Splaine had five hits in the four Pac-12 Tournament games, tied for second most on the team. And his previous late-game dramatics were key to Arizona winning the conference’s regular season title and pulling off several of its astounding eight walkoff wins.

“It’s funny because Tommy can have some at-bats where there are strikeouts and he’s not doing much,” UA coach Chip Hale said afterward. “But it seems like when the the game’s on the line he has his best at-bats.”

That statement describes Splaine’s season—and that game—to a T. He was 2 for 4 against USC, striking out the first two times as the Wildcats were being no-hit, yet during the late innings he came through.

Splaine has struck out 56 times this season, three more than in his previous two years, while walking just seven times. His swing has been in constant adjustment, starting from the fall when hitting coach Toby DeMello started working with him to try and draw more power from his 6-foot-5 frame.

“Starting in the fall, I started working with some different stuff,” Splaine said. “As the season has gone on obviously, it didn’t go as I wanted it to but my coaches and I have been just working hard just to keep improving and just sticking with it really.”

Overall, the season has been a disappointment for Splaine, who after spending 2023 sharing catcher duties with Cameron LaLiberte was moved to 1B. He’s been stellar there, with a .988 fielding percentage and just five errors in over 400 chances, but because of the hitting struggles he hasn’t started every game; true freshman Andrew Cain got some starts at 1^st with Splaine coming in late as a defensive replacement, but there hasn’t been any complaining from the vet.

“If he was a professional I’d say he’s a consummate professional because he has not let any of his struggles at the plate affect him on defense,” Hale said. “That’s why he’s out there. He holds down that infield, and I’m just so happy that it was him that got the winning hit.”

Splaine’s five home runs are a career high, but he last hit one out April 24 at New Mexico State. Since then he’s had nine hits, all singles, but he’s found other ways to contribute down the stretch as he’s been part of the last three walkoffs.

Against Washington State he led off the 11^th inning by getting hit by a pitch and ended up scoring the winning run in that 7-6 victory, part of a run of a school-record 11 consecutive Pac-12 victories. Then, in the regular-season finale Splaine was first to the plate in the 9^th after Oregon State took a 3-2 lead in the top of the inning.

What did he do? Like he has more than anyone else on the Wildcats (12), Splaine was hit by a pitch. That’s happened 29 times in his career, 10th-most in school history.

A one-out walk to Maddox Mihalakis put Splaine in scoring position, and he crossed the plate as the tying run just ahead of Mihalakis on Brendan Summerhill’s walkoff 2-run double to win the conference title.

“I just really wanted to pull through for this team,” Splaine said. “We all love each other.”

A former California water official has pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal water in a deal with federal prosecutors in the state’s crop-rich Central Valley.

The Los Angeles Times reports Tuesday that 78-year-old Dennis Falaschi, who used to head the Panoche Water District, entered the plea in federal court in Fresno. He also pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return.

Falaschi was accused in a case that alleged that more than $25 million in water was stolen over two decades when it was siphoned from a federal irrigation canal through a secret pipe and sold to farmers and other water districts. The Panoche Water District supplies irrigation for farmland in Fresno and Merced counties — much of it from the federal Delta-Mendota canal.

Authorities said in court documents that Falaschi wasn’t the only one taking water, but did not specify who else was involved. They estimated Falaschi stole less than $3.5 million in water, a small portion of what they initially alleged had been stolen.

The case comes as California has embarked on a yearslong effort to conserve water use by passing a groundbreaking law to regulate groundwater pumping, encouraging urban users to replace thirsty lawns with more drought-friendly landscaping and ramping up water storage efforts to help the state navigate expected dry years ahead.

The state moved to reduce groundwater use after overpumping led farmers to drill deeper for water and some rural wells to grow dry. The prospect of pumping limits has worried California farmers who grow much of the country’s fresh produce.

Falaschi, who has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in any additional investigations, is scheduled to be sentenced in September. He declined to speak with the newspaper after Tuesday’s hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Barton also declined to comment.