When we think of a wild place, we envision a place far from the reaches of man. A place pure and untouched. A place rugged and natural. If you were to travel 10,000 years back in time, this place would look the same.

How many of these places have you seen? Or have you even heard of? Alaska’s Chuitna River is one of those places.

This is a place where the water flows clear. Five species of salmon run every year. Grizzlies and otters and eagles feed on fish. The tribes that have called this place home have relied on the river for millennia. It is idyllic purity.

What the Chuitna also has is coal. And lots of it. So much that mining companies are viewing this utopia as a location for a massive open-pit mine. This is during a year when the U.S. is walking away from coal and even China is closing 1,000 coal mines. This perfect place could be no more.

To draw awareness to this threat, some good people made a documentary. You can watch it below. After you experience the film, visit http://savethechuitna.org/ and join the movement to preserve this natural treasure. We don’t have many truly wild places left.

Chuitna – More Than Salmon On The Line from Trip Jennings on Vimeo.