The latest salvo in the battle over Pebble Mine comes from an interesting corner of Alaska fish politics. Gov. Sean Parnell’s outgoing fisheries adviser, Stephanie Moreland, is making way for new appointee Ben Mohr.
New Alaska fisheries adviser Ben MohrFor six years, Mohr was the public information specialist for the Pebble Partnership, the company behind Pebble Mine. Most recently he worked as a campaign manager for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan, who worked as the Alaska commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources and was a Pebble proponent in that role.
Parnell did not exactly win fishermen’s hearts and minds with his position in support of the Pebble Partnership and his vocal opposition to EPA’s authority. However, I’m sure many Alaskans could overlook Mohr’s history if Parnell had put him in an advisory position for any other industry or resource in the state. There are plenty in the Last Frontier who believe the state should have the authority to fulfill its permitting process (though that process is known to have considerable flaws when it comes to denying any resource extraction based on environmental concerns).
So the question is: What exactly makes Mohr an expert in fisheries or public policy for that matter? The closest he’s been is his work for a private company that fought so hard to put one of the world’s largest fisheries into a precarious position.
Given EPA’s recent actions to put the final nail in Pebble’s coffin, perhaps the governor is thumbing his nose at those who called to prevent the mine’s construction at a federal level, in a sense, going over the governor’s head. Or perhaps he simply believes Mohr is qualified for the job. It’s hard to know because the governor’s office has posted no press release on the appointment, nor has Parnell commented publicly.
It comes as no surprise that Mohr’s appointment was announced late last week. The closer political news falls to the weekend, the less likely it is to get a full lashing from the press.
I contacted the governor’s office, which put me through to a voicemail for his press contacts. I did not receive a call back before this went live.
