Protecting Alaska's Cook Inlet watershed and the life it sustains since 1995.
By Kayla Walsh, Alaska Conservation Foundation Intern What brings a city girl like me to Cook Inlet, a place I hadnât heard of just 6 months ago? Well, I started a graduate program in Conservation Medicine and Iâm here to learn all about it from the real experts: Alaskans! Iâve been asked what Conservation Medicine […]
On this date 33 years ago, Alaskans experienced the oiling of Prince William Sound and beyond. You know the story â Bligh Reef, drunk captain, North Slope crude oil. A disastrous trifecta that fouled our waters and shoreline resulting in the most significant environmental and coastal community catastrophe in Alaskaâs history. Alaskans learned important lessons […]
STATE MAKES MOCKERY OF âRESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENTâ BY LETTING OIL INDUSTRY INCREASE TOXIC POLLUTION IN PRIME BELUGA & FISH HABITAT Download the Press Release here HOMER, AK – Today a coalition of groups, filed by Trustees for Alaska, pressed the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) to reconsider a final Clean Water Act permit that allows […]
What is the common thread between Concord, NH; Denton, TX; Norman, OK and a growing number of American cities? They all have a commitment to 100% clean energy within the next 30 years. The transition from fossil fuels to renewables is inevitable. Whatâs not inevitable is that this transition is just and, in the words […]
For the past 15 years, Cook Inletkeeper and its partners have hosted electronics recycling (e-cycling) events around the Kenai Peninsula. As this yearâs events fast approach, itâs important to understand the many advantages of recycling electronic waste. One of the most important benefits to e-recycling is helping to protect the fisheries and communities in the […]
There are few icons of wilderness as powerful as the bears of southwest Alaska. With thousands of them living wild on the Alaska Peninsula, they play crucial roles as ecosystem curators and economic drivers, drawing wildlife lovers from all over the world who support the region’s lucrative sustainable bear viewing industry. Once regarded as untouchable, […]
Youth Voices are Integral in Creating a Just Transition to a Regenerative and Fossil Fuel Free Economy in Alaska by Satchel Pondolfino When you walk into a decision-making space, take note of who is in the room. The decisions that come out of that room are going to reflect those people and their world views. […]
As we approach solstice anticipating the returning light, Iâve been laughing about the notion that this is the slow time of year. The to-do list here at Cook Inletkeeper is longer than ever – there is no off-season to protecting what we love. This month we are fighting the repeal of the jetski ban in […]
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has extended public comment on proposals to transfer BP pipelines and other assets â including BPâs interests in the Trans Alaska Pipeline (TAPs) to Hilcorps. The new deadline is December 13, 2019. While BP and Hilcorp have negotiated this deal for more than a year, the RCA has made an […]
Throughout his campaign for Governor, then later in defense of his sweeping cuts to kids, the elderly and rural Alaska, Mike Dunleavy has talked a lot about an âhonest budget.â In fact, thatâs what he calls it on the official state web site: An Honest Budget. Most Alaskans alarmed at the Dunleavy budget cuts, and […]
Pebble Mine, Brown Bears & the Climate Crisis For the past year, Inletkeeper has been studying the brown bears in Lower Cook Inlet, to understand the potential impacts on bears and the bear viewing industry from the proposed transportation corridor and export terminal from the Pebble Mine. Lower Cook Inlet boasts the highest concentration of […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 10, 2019 HEAT WAVE HITS COOK INLET SALMON STREAMSClimate Crisis Sends Stream Temperatures Off the Charts (PDF Version Here) HOMER, AKâ As Alaskans suffer through the smoke, haze and danger of a record-breaking heat wave, Alaskaâs salmon are suffering too. On July 7th, stream temperatures topped 81.7 oF (27.6 oC) in the Deshka River, […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 19, 2019 House of Representatives Vote to Block Funding for Pebble Mine.Representative Don Young wants to âLook at the Science.â Homer, AK – Today, the House of Representatives passed amendment 90, âThe Huffman Amendmentâ to the Energy and Water Appropriations Act (H.R. 2740) bill to suspend funding for permitting the proposed […]
In May 2019, Inletkeeper released a report (see below) showing the pile of money Pebble is spending on high-end lobbyists to influence the Trump Administration’s so-called “permitting process.” The report showed that since the beginning of the Trump administration, Pebble has paid $4.43 million to in-house and external lobbyists. Since 2007, that number balloons to […]
Featured photo: Michael Melford The Army Corps of Engineers began their public hearings in Naknek, AK on Monday for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding the proposed Pebble Mine Plan. At the same time that residents from rural Alaska make arrangements to speak out at these public hearings, our State Legislature in Juneau is proceeding […]
Sue Mauger, Science Director at Cook Inletkeeper, connects the dots on climate change and calls out the negligence of Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy in his administration’s swift removal of the Climate Action Plan from the official State website. Sign the petition to the Governor, Here! Originally Published in Alaska Dispatch News, Dec. 28, 2018 When our new governor […]
ADD YOUR NAME to demand that Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy return the Climate Change Task Force information and action plan documents to the official state website. There is no debate. Our national reports read loud and clear: Alaska is warming faster than the rest of the planet and the cost of doing nothing grows every day. Alaska should […]
Written by Sue Mauger, Science Director We live in, play around and benefit from a salmon landscape. Wild salmon unite and define us as Alaskans. We pride ourselves in living differently up here, but we are making the same mistakes that others made across the world when they chose incompatible development over salmon. Stand for […]
ExxonMobil has donated a total of $1 Million to vote “Noâ for salmon on Ballot Measure 1. In 2017, Exxon Mobil Corporation earned 2nd place on the Fortune 500Â list, making it the largest privately-owned oil and energy company in the world. Exxon enjoyed profits over 19.7 BILLION dollars. Or, enough to cover the $507.5 million […]
Today Cook Inletkeeper released a statement from 58 retired state and federal agency scientists and managers who strongly support the Stand for Salmon Ballot Measure 1. Taken together, these experts have more than 1500 yearsâ experience managing and overseeing salmon and salmon habitat In Alaska. âExxon, Pebble and the other corporations are smothering Alaskans with […]
Today Cook Inletkeeper released a statement from 58 retired state and federal agency scientists and managers who strongly support the Stand for Salmon Ballot Measure 1. Taken together, these experts have more than 1500 yearsâ experience managing and overseeing salmon and salmon habitat In Alaska. âExxon, Pebble and the other corporations are smothering Alaskans with […]
On the same day PFD dividends hit bank accounts this year, I thawed a filet of silver salmon from the Kenai River. Â I remember feeling so grateful with that particular fresh, beautiful fish in my hands this August. With the sockeye fishery closed just weeks before, I started to wonder what our freezer would look […]
We are at a tipping point. 2020 is a threshold for meeting global targets to tackle the climate crisis. We are fast running out of time to act and any meaningful action from the State of Alaska has been alarmingly slow at best. The Global Climate Action Summit, being held in California on 12-14 September 2018, has […]
ANCHORAGEâ The Alaska Department of Natural Resources bowed to corporate pressure late yesterday evening, after the court ordered deadline, and rejected efforts by Alaskan citizens to protect wild salmon in the Chuitna River watershed on the west side of Cook Inlet. âItâs been 9 years since we filed papers to reserve enough water in Middle […]
Did you know that in the Cook Inlet, oil & gas operators can legally dump toxic waste into coastal fisheries? Thatâs right  â Oil & gas corporations are allowed to dump over 100,000 gallons of oil and grease and over 835,000 pounds of metals such as mercury, nickel, copper, manganese and zinc into the Cook […]
Partnership Between Community Organizations Connects Art to Advocacy HOMER, August 10th, 2018 – Visiting Artist in Residence, Patrick Maxcy, will be painting a live art mural today, August 10th, for the 3rd Annual Alaska Wild Salmon Day event held between 4:30 – 7:00PM at Karen Hornaday Park Pavillion in Homer. His colorful salmon mural painted […]
You might hear us talk a little bit about salmon around here. We love them, it’s true. Because, of course, we all live in one of the last strongholds of wild salmon on earth. That’s right, on THE-PLANET. Stop and think about that for a moment… The conquest of human beings across this continent over […]
1,000 Donations by July 15th This year, every week has felt like a new assault on our democracy. And lately it seems like the very fabric of compassion that binds us together as human beings is being torn to shreds. Frankly, I don’t really feel like celebrating right now. Right here in Alaska some […]
Yay! We partnered with the Homer Folk School and Stowaway Cafe to bring you a summer series of workshops that will take your love for salmon to a whole new level! From dialing in your skills with a fillet knife, or recipes of all kinds, to a detailed exploration of salmon science and getting […]
In March, Cook Inletkeeperâs Central Peninsula team had the opportunity to travel to Juneau along with three Alaskan fisherpoets to meet with our elected officials. Â Here are reflections on the trip from two fisherpoets, both lifelong Alaskans who made the trip to Juneau for the first time. Commercial fishing in with my father in Cook […]
In Inletkeepersâ blog series, âThe Corporate War on Salmonâ, our Advocacy Director, Bob Shavelson, examined the campaign disclosure of so-called âStand For Alaskaâ to reveal that this supposed âbroad statewide coalitionâ is backed by an elite whoâs who of corporate special interest in our state. As you can see in the records, over 80% of […]
Gov. Walker’s Climate Leadership Team is collecting public comment for a draft policy response to the causes and impacts of climate change. Comment before JUNE 4 Have you heard about ” The Blob”?  It’s a monsterous meterological phenomenon that super heated North Pacific waters starting in 2014 and was directly connected to a 70% decline in Pacific Cod stocks. Combined with […]
Since day one, your opposition to the Pebble open pit mine in the headwaters of the richest sockeye fishery in the world has run strong. You showed up to public hearings, you wrote comments, you voted at the ballot box. The message was always clear: the risks are too high, our salmon systems are too […]
These Corporations Have Rigged the Salmon Protection System By Bob Shavelson, Advocacy Director Iâve been working on water quality and salmon habitat issues in Alaska for over 20 years. Â And over all this time, Iâve learned a few painful but obvious lessons. First, our governments have stopped trying to protect our fish habitat. Yes, we […]
The Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership held its 10th annual Salmon Science and Conservation Symposium this month in Palmer. Cook Inletkeeper’s Science Director had the honor of offering welcoming remarks to the crowd of salmon enthusiasts from local government, business, federally recognized tribes, scientists, nonprofits, subsistence fishery users, commercial fishing industry, sportfish groups and concerned […]
Why is a womenâs group attacking clean water safeguards?The answer tells a larger story about how massive corporations have bought our government and our politicians. And itâs on prominent display in the Last Frontier. In 2015, the Obama Administration adopted a long-needed rule to clarify the Clean Water Actâs wetlands protection provisions. Over the years, […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION June 21, 2017 Bob Shavelson (907.299.3277) ANCHORAGEâToday, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale for tracts in the federal waters of Lower Cook Inlet. Unlike the previous three sales, Lease Sale 244 garnered bids, though only one company â Hilcorp â participated in the sale. âLease […]
March 24 marks 28 years since the Exxon Valdez âfetched up, ah, hard agroundâ on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, laying a path of destruction across Alaskaâs coastal ecosystems and the countless lives they support. While Exxon officials worked hard to convince the world it spilled âonlyâ 10.8 million gallons of crudeâostensibly to pay […]
On February 8, Alaskans learned Texas-based Hilcorp Alaska had âdiscoveredâ a large leak from a natural gas fuel line supplying power to platforms on Middle Ground Shoal in Cook Inlet. Several weeks later, we learned Hilcorp knew â or should have known â about the leak months earlier, in December 2016 or earlier. While ongoing […]
