GrassRoot Ohio- #StopPebbleMine-OH/AK FisherWomen

Carolyn Harding with Pam Libby, Julia King and Lindsay Layland. Two are born and raised Ohioans, one Alaskan. Two migrate to Bristol Bay every June/July, one lives there year round. Two are my biological sisters, one is an activist organizer sister. All three are commercial salmon fishermen or women in the Bristol Bay, and all three stand to Stop Pebble Mine. Pam Harding Libby was born and raised in Worthington, Ohio. She moved to Alaska in May, 1978 when she married Jim Libby, a life-long commercial salmon fisherman from Bristol Bay. She’s spent the last 42 summers commercial salmon setnet fishing on Ekuk Beach in the Nushagak district of Bristol Bay. Next year marks the 60th anniversary of the Libby family fishing together from mid June - mid July, harvesting 1,000s of pounds of salmon, even in the midst of this world-wide pandemic! At 66, she considers herself a “bad ass fisher grandma”! She’s grateful to be part of her 4 generation family fishing business and is optimistic that the fight will prevail! Julia King grew up in Worthington, Ohio spending summers at Lake Erie. In 1983, after spending a year teaching in the South Pacific, she flew home through Alaska and worked on the Slime Line at a salmon processing plant in Dillingham where her sister spent her summers fishing. The next year she went back and crewed on a commercial salmon drift boat for the summer and has spent the last 30 years, minus a few, sett netting on the beach with Pam and family. She received her Masters in Education from the Ohio State University and started teaching in Southern California, in Corona, where she continues to teach today. Fishing has been her summer job of passion. Lindsay Layland is from Dillingham, Alaska. She is a life-long fisherman with a great respect for the waters, lands, and cultures of the Bristol Bay region. She is committed to community engagement and preparing and encouraging our future generations to lead empowered, sustainable, productive lives. She is the Deputy Director of the United Trib