Proposed Johnson Tract Gold Mine Threatens Endangered Belugas and Would Industrialize Tuxedni Bay — Satchel Pondolfino As during any administration change over, a shuffle of last minute action from executive orders, to permitting decisions to pardons ensues. During last week’s shuffle, Inletkeeper was disappointed, though not surprised, to...
Fast Tracking Johnson Tract — Satchel Pondolfino How do we fight a gold mine during the next administration? We pay attention and keep a watchful eye out for corner cutting, we build our case for inevitable litigation, and we keep repeating the truth: Alaska does not need more gold mines. We don’t need them in Bristol Bay, in the Kuskokwim, or on...
Homer Energy Fair Homer Drawdown is beginning to wrap up its third solution: Climate Smart Homer Homes. To cumulate our efforts, the climate solutions community is hosting the Homer Energy Fair, a one-stop shop to connect Homer area residents with energy-efficiency resources. The Homer Energy Fair will be held on Saturday, January 25th, at...
Learning from Local Leaders — Satchel Pondolfino Over the nearly 8 years of organizing programs and campaigns with Inletkeeper, I’ve learned that sometimes our role is as simple as holding the door open. A consistent joy of the work is connecting with and learning from the people who walk in the room, figuratively and literally. Our job is to...
Heat Pump 101 Wow, how gratifying it is when our community shows up! We unexpectedly filled both virtual and physical rooms with last week’s Heat Pump 101 event in numbers greater than we’ve seen since precovid. If you were not one of the ~130 people in attendance and are curious about heat pumps, watch the meeting recording here. This event...
Salmon Champions & Energy Surveys — Satchel Pondolfino & Josie Oliva As Salmonfest has grown into a large music festival (for Alaska standards), Inletkeeper is still committed to supporting the festival organizers in keeping its salmon mission at its heart. And so, with Inletkeeper’s support, salmon champions arrived in schools to spread...
In service to the Cook Inlet | Tikahtnu watershed and the living communities it supports, Inletkeeper is unwavering in our commitment to serving as both hardrock mining watchdogs and renewable energy advocates. Despite the prevailing rhetoric driven by the mining industry that pits these two objectives against each other, we firmly believe that...
The demand for the latest phone, gaming device, or even vacuum seems to be holding steady, if not growing. From mineral mining to landfills, every stage of the electronic evolution has detrimental impacts to the health of the Cook Inlet watershed. By growing electronic recycling throughout the watershed, we can bolster the recycling economy in...
In April Inletkeeper will be supporting three pro-renewable energy candidates for the Homer Electric Association Board of Directors. In District 1 (Kenai-Nikiski), candidate Rob Ernst is a commercial fisherman and teacher recently retired from Nikiski High School. A 55 year Nikiski resident, he has seen firsthand how the cost of energy impacts...
It's salmon season in Alaska and that means people all over the State are putting on their waders or grundens, pulling out their nets and poles, and heading out to our salmon waters at all hours of the day and night. In our watershed, Dena’ina, Alutiiq and Sugpiaq people have been in relationship with salmon for time immemorial. Today this...
