Comment from Nelson, Hailey

Look we provide so much of americas seafood. We can’t be doing experimental sea floor mining. This is going to destroy our oceans and Alaska is not the place to experiment because the potential costs are far too high. Not only will Native peoples be affected but many, likely even all Alaskans will be affected. It will hit the native communities first and the hardest and that cannot be allowed to happen. We already have so many displaced native peoples in Alaska. We cannot add more simply because greedy people want to exploit our oceans. Additionally, There are more than just Native people that make their living fishing here! Even the Pete Hegseth spent 2 million in Alaska king crab with our tax dollars…. Something he would not have the chance to have ever done if our oceans had been destroyed by experimental mining. This will have a wide effect on the fishing industry here as a whole and it will touch the lives of so many Americans in the lower 48. We have no idea how far the damage from this will carry. We can’t destroy these waters. It’s is not alright for the federal government to just go and do this to all of us. This is experimental and I’m sure that mistakes and mishaps will occur, as with any experimental mining projects. Alaska already has a major food deficit as well. We are already a state which cannot feed itself. Additionally this will not add jobs to our economy. We stand to gain nothing from this. Our government CANNOT risk destroying one of our only food sources. Unless the federal governments goal is to make it unlivable for all of the people here, and drive us all out, which I am starting to suspect. If you do this… we Alaskans will remember EXACTLY who destroyed our marine ecosystems. Do not think we won’t seek justice. We will. One day there will be accountability and consequences for those who push this project forward. If our marine ecosystems are destroyed by experimental mining we will remember. Leave the bottoms of our oceans and our livelihoods ALONE!