ALASKA BAY ENVIRONMENT 2

Bears congregate to catch salmon in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about 30 miles from Bristol Bay in southern Alaska in June 2015, downstream from the site of a proposed copper, gold and molybdenum mine that the Biden administration has rejected.

 MARK MEYER / the new york times file

There’s treasure in and around the water of Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The Biden administration Thursday ensured that there will be no environmentally destructive quest for gold, copper and molybdenum in two watersheds upstream from the ecologically important bay.