Annie here from Peak Design. I'm our Director of Sustainability. Howdy.
In 2017, a crew of us from Peak Design headed to Alaska to support the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) in documenting the Constantine mine development near Haines. SEACC informed us that two other filmmakers would be joining us and sharing our local expert. Our filming window was short due to weather so I was less than thrilled about coordinating and compromising our shoot schedule with others. It didn't help that these two yahoos were no where to be found on the first day of filming as we waited in a packed and ready van. They eventually ambled up.
After a day of filming and some post-shoot beers, the yahoos not only became good friends but also two filmmakers we deeply respect. Colin Arisman and Connor Gallagher are talented, thoughtful and deeply dedicated to conservation. Rock-Paper-Fish is their most recent film and one Peak Design supported. Colin provides some context for the film below.
How did film come about?
Connor Gallagher and I are documentary filmmakers with a focus on wildlife and marine conservation. We had heard from a nonprofit contact in Alaska about the prospect of an industrial mine upstream of the town of Haines. The project was still in the exploration phase and yet register in the public consciousness outside of this remote corner Southeast Alaska. We were intrigued to learn more about how the local communities were coping with the prospects of an industrial mine being developed upstream. So in August, 2017 we flew into Juneau Alaska and took the 4 hour ferry up to Haines. On the ferry we realized that another crew of intrepid photographers and videographers were also on the boat with us and headed north to document the proposed mine. The crew turned out to be the fine folks of Peak Design. Over the next week in the field we forged a strong friendship and collaborative partnership working side by side. Over the next two years we made numerous trips to Haines to immerse ourselves in the story and the complexity of this moment in time in the Chilkat Valley. Through the course of five trips to the Chilkat Valley we fell in love with these communities, the towering peaks, braided rivers and pulse of wild salmon. A modern day gold rush is underway in the mountains above the river’s headwaters, and locals are reckoning with the changes that could come with a hard-rock mine. “Rock-Paper-Fish” offers a look into the lives of Alaskans grappling with questions as immense as the place they call home.
What is the status of mineral exploration?
Constantine is currently in advanced exploration. They have yet to outline a plan for how a mine could safely operate in the Chilkat Watershed. The company is negotiating a transfer of public Bureau of Land Management lands to a private trust. This land transfer could potentially allow mining companies to avoid consultation with local tribes, bypass federal permitting processes, and could also allow them to restrict public access to the land around the mine site. Klukwan and conservation groups are currently suing the Bureau of Land Management for permitting Constantine's exploration plans without considering the future environmental impacts of mine development.
How can people take action?
The community downstream from the mine is raising money to address mining actions that pose a serious threat to Tribal Member’s subsistence based economies, spiritual beliefs and practices, and health and wellbeing. Your contribution can help the Tribe with water quality monitoring of the impacted river systems and their work to engage the State of Alaska and the US government in meaningful consultation. You can make a tax deductible contribution (via GoFundMe) to the communities nonprofit at Chilkat.org
Watch the film below and find out more at www.rockpaperfish.com.
© 2026 Peak Design
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