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As movement of the Pebble Mine project across Cook Inlet begins to pick up the pace, many have voiced their concerns, fears and dissatisfaction with not just the process, but the whole concept.

Canadian mining company Northern Dynasty claims Pebble is North America's largest gold deposit and second-largest copper deposit waiting to be uncovered and would provide as many as 2,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent positions over the mine's anticipated 30- to 50-year life.

The biggest fear expressed is the contamination of the Bristol Bay region, and that's a significant concern.

While there are proven extensive mineral resources in the Pebble site that could generate substantial economic returns, the area already has another natural resource that is vital to the Bristol Bay region - fish, specifically salmon.

Tourism, commercial and sport fishing and the resident Natives' subsistence lifestyle depend on the continued health and productivity of the Bristol Bay watershed. Even in a best-case environmental scenario where there are no spills or mining accidents, Dynasty's plans to get at the Pebble deposit are enough to make one nervous.

The plan calls for a miles-wide hole dug into the ground. Mining tailings from that hole would cover 14.5 square miles, including existing lakes. One spill, one mistake could have devastating consequences for the area.

We can see there clearly are two sides to this issue. So can many legislators, who have proposed House Concurrent Resolution 29.

The resolution requests the commissioner of natural resources to complete a management plan for the area encompassing the Pebble copper deposit and requesting a report to the Legislature.

In other words, slow down and make the right decision.

We think that's a sound idea.

No one should be asked to make a decisive plan without looking at the picture as a whole. And while everyone wants to maintain nature's bounty in an area that relies on fishing, tourism and subsistence resources, an opportunity to provide 1,000 long-term jobs - including management, administration and support, specialties, miners, operators and maintenance - that will strengthen the state's economy should not be ignored, either.

Dynasty has said it plans to seek permits next year and have the operation working at full speed in five years.

According to Steve Borell, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, Dynasty is taking its time and going through all the right channels. He said Pebble is no rush job, and the environmental review it must go through will take at least three years. He said Northern Dynasty has delayed applying for permits for a year while it studies a newly discovered mineralized zone.

Still, while little will be done to the area just yet, the paperwork trail under way is warming up the engines on the excavation process. We ask, is this prudent?

There's time to examine all of the issues, and if the decision is to move forward, we'll know it's the right one. HCR 29 gives us the opportunity to strike gold, not end up with a mining disaster.