I am incredibly honored by Bob, Sue, and of your trust as I step into the role Bob has, seemingly effortlessly, managed for so many years. As I inherit the “Inletkeeper” title from Bob, I’d like to share my vision for the future of the Cook Inlet watershed in the decades ahead: Alaska’s economy has diversified, moving from fossil fuels dependent...
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 14, 2021 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Liz Mering, Inletkeeper (907.235.3459) FEDS IGNORE SERIOUS IMPACTS TO TRIBAL COMMUNITIES, FISHERIES, WILDLIFE & BUSINESSES IN COOK INLET President Biden promised no more offshore oil leasing, and Alaskans push the administration to use this authority and...
I remember ice floes in fast-moving water and hoarfrost on cars. I remember a steaming volcano in the distance. I remember 100 bald eagles in the trees. In late 1995, I drove down the Kenai Peninsula to accept the job running Cook Inletkeeper. It felt like another world. The year before, a dedicated group of Alaskans had sued the oil industry in...
Lease ART Sale 258 Update: Thank you all for a successful Art Sale 258 and Draft Environmental Impact Statement comment period! We are able to do this work because of member support from concerned citizens like you. Please donate today to protect Cook Inlet for our future generations. In the world we wish to inhabit, there is no more oil and gas...
Friday, 3 December 2021: For Immediate Release “Sea Otter” by Valisa Higman is one of the pieces included in the “ART Sale 258” Collaboration between five Cook Inlet-based artists who aim to protect lower Cook Inlet from the federal government’s Lease Sale 258. Soldotna, AK: Five local artists from the Cook Inlet basin have come together to raise...
Fat Bear Week brings the wonder and joy of our Cook Inlet bears to people around the world! This year--for the fourth time!!--Otis (or brown bear 480) was crowned king! Otis--relying on the amazing rich nutrients in Katmai--ended the season weighing over 1,000 pounds. Not the largest bear of the bunch but a survivor! Otis is estimated at 25...
December 1, 2021FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Alaska Farmers Market Association awarded a USDA Grant to support farmers markets, farm stands, and Community Support Agriculture Homer, AK- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $37.5 Million this year to 84 recipients across the country, including funding to Alaska’s Cook...
This Thursday is complex. Many of us grew up spending the day with friends and family celebrating Thanksgiving. But Thursday is also a National Day of Mourning where we must remember our nation’s tragic history with the indigenous peoples who have called North America home from time immemorial. We are trying to recognize both of these here. We...
International politics, law, and negotiation are crazy things. They are essential for world-wide problems where without global commitment, we cannot likely achieve an outcome; but at the same time incredibly frustrating and more aspirational than proactive in trying to unite 197 nations to reach collective agreement on the right path...
Over the last fifty years, U.S. waters have been affected by almost 50 oil spills over 420,000 gallons. A few of the most famous are: Santa Barbara, California (1969): 3 million gallons spilled from an offshore platform blowout creating a 35 mile long oil slick. Exxon Valdez, Alaska (1989): 10.8 million gallons spilled from a grounded oil...
