Critics question mine exploration near Alaska eagle preserve

In the world's largest congregation of bald eagles, they gather along the Chilkat River in southeast Alaska to feast on salmon carcasses washed downstream after spawning.

Wildlife advocates are concerned that a possible mining project near a major tributary of the river could threaten the eagles.

Haines is a commercial fishing and tourism town of 2,500 with an asset missing in most other southeast Alaska towns: a highway that climbs through nearby mountains to connect to the continental road system.

Cohen, a sponsor of the 2006 cruise ship ballot initiative that required the vessels to get state pollution discharge permits for wastewater, is frustrated by a system in which debate about a mine that could damage a world-class natural attraction does not begin until after millions of dollars have been spent.

The specifics of a future mine are not needed to know that it will produce millions of gallons of wastewater contaminated with heavy metals in a location prone to earthquakes and heavy rainfall, Cohen said.