Photo by acacia.johnson / On November 25, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected Pebble Mine's permit application to mine the headwaters of Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed. For decades, this proposed copper and gold mine has sparked heated resistance from commercial fishermen, tribal groups, and environmentalists over concerns that runoff from the mine could cause irreversible damage to one of Alaska's most abundant ecosystems. A vast wilderness located on the Alaska Peninsula, the Bristol Bay watershed is home to the world's most productive wild salmon habitat, a $1.5 billion commercial salmon fishery, and numerous tribal groups who rely on salmon for subsistence. It's also home to the world's largest congregations of brown bears, like this mother and cub photographed near Chenik, Alaska. This recent news is a tremendous win for the environment. Yet until the project is vetoed under the Clean Water Act, there is still work to be done to secure permanent, community-supported prot...