The votes are in, it’s a draw! Last week, Homer Drawdown gathered to hear the solution pitches and cast votes to decide where the local climate solution community will direct their energy next. Both solutions were popular, and when the time came to decide, the votes came in as an exact tie. Since both solutions fell under the umbrella of...
Recently, we learned that despite serious environmental and community concerns, the proposed Donlin Gold Project was added to the FAST-41 permitting program, marking it as a federal priority. Donlin Gold would be the largest pure gold mine in the world, located on a tributary ~140 miles upriver from the mouth of the Kuskokwim. This colossal...
Federal regulators at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are moving to finalize Cook Inlet oil and gas Lease Sale 258 without public hearings or opportunities for comment on a more thorough environmental review ordered by a federal court. A federal judge ruled in 2024 that BOEM’s initial review of Lease Sale 258 violated the National...
Alaska houses more than half the wetlands in the United States. This makes it especially vulnerable to the impacts of the 2023 case Sackett vs. EPA. The case changed which wetlands fall under federal jurisdiction and trigger Clean Water Act protection. Only wetlands with surface water, and that touches a “relatively permanent” water body, are...
“Anything worth celebrating is worth protecting.” – Inletkeeper carries this message throughout its initiatives, from the annual Salmonfest gathering to our campaign opposing the Johnson Tract mine. Salmonfest brings people together to celebrate Alaska’s salmon and our connection with them. It’s a weekend packed with incredible musicians and...
In a recent win for the people of the Kuskokwim and opponents of the Donlin mine, a judge ruled in June that a more extensive environmental impact assessment is needed before construction can continue. Donlin Gold Mine would be one of the largest open pit gold mines in the world, and is proposed 10 miles north of the Village of Crooked Creek on a...
The proposed West Su Industrial Access Road, a 100+ mile road built with public funds that would open up a new mining district west of the Susitna Valley, garnered attention from Alaskan lawmakers during this spring’s legislative session. By and large, the legislature upheld what we’ve been saying all along—Alaskans should not be on the hook to...
Cook Inletkeeper has joined a lawsuit to stop the Johnson Tract Gold Mine — an industrial project that threatens one of Alaska’s last wild coastal ecosystems. Last week, Inletkeeper joined the Center for Biological Diversity, the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, and a local stakeholder who fishes in Tuxedni Bay in a lawsuit aimed at the...
For Immediate Release, May 20, 2025 Contact: Satchel Pondolfino, Cook Inletkeeper, satchel@inletkeeper.org Lisa Wade, Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, lrwade@chickaloon-nsn.gov Marlee Goska, Center for Biological Diversity, mgoska@biologicaldiversity.org Lawsuit Aims to Protect Cook Inlet, Belugas from Water Pollution, Noise Gold Mining...
Public Comments Needed: Don’t fund the West Su Access Road — Satchel Pondolfino The 100+ mile West Su Access Road - an industrial corridor proposed to service a myriad of foreign mining lease holders, primarily gold leases, would kick off a tidal wave of industrialization in the West Susitna watershed. Characterized by healthy intact habitat,...
