Two University of Alaska professors say that subpoenas from Pebble Limited Partnership seeking evidence in its lawsuit against a federal agency are wasting university time and money, and are a diversion from the science and research they should be pursuing.

A federal agency is pushing back in a court fight over the stalled Pebble mine, suggesting that the project’s troubles stem from falling gold and copper prices, not government actions.

In a poignant address to environmentalists in Anchorage on Feb 8, a top regional official of the Environmental Protection Agency spoke of the challenges of climate change and told them that everyone owns some part of the solution.

Any final action by the federal government blocking large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay region will likely have to wait until the next presidential administration, a top Environmental Protection Agency official said Monday.