Inletkeeper Blog

Cook Inlet Watershed Survey
After a year of not seeing our longtime supporters due to the pandemic or the opportunity to meet new people with different perspectives at in-person events, we really wanted to hear directly from Alaskans. So, we developed a survey to understand community-specific...

The Donlin Mine: Alaska’s Latest Poster Child for Reckless Development
Alaskans are blessed with an abundance unlike anywhere else. And that abundance translates to a richness of life we all savor. It’s hard to find anyone who voted for Trump or Biden who disagrees: we all love Alaska. So, why are we squandering this rich legacy...

From Roe to River and Back Again: Deepening Water Curiosity & the Life Cycle of Data
By Claire Babbott-Bryan, Climate Change and Wild Salmon Intern I’ve been a water nerd my whole life. It began, as it so often does, with the third-grade interdisciplinary river unit. In English class, we wrote poetry personifying the local biota. In art, we crafted...

Inletkeeper Joins Suit to Stop Dunleavy from Fouling Cook Inlet
When President Biden took office, he promptly delivered on his campaign promise to address climate change by pausing new oil and gas leasing in federal waters until his Administration could review the leasing program. The pause put the brakes on proposed federal Lease...

Weaker Oil Spill Rules Dovetail with the Need for Stronger Dispersants Safeguards
In the complex interplay between corporate profits and environmental protection, it can be hard to connect the dots to understand the larger picture. Inletkeeper is now engaged on two fronts which at first may appear disconnected, but on closer inspection, reveal a...

Living, Working, & Farming in a Salmon Landscape: Embracing an Alaskan Land Ethic
Conservationist and ecologist Aldo Leopold published his pivotal essay Land Ethic in 1949. Central to this essay is a call for honoring our moral responsibility to the natural world, by caring not only about ourselves, but also the land, and the inseparable...

Your Power, Your Vote
Across the Cook Inlet watershed, railbelt electric co-ops are hosting their board of directors’ elections now. These elections are often overlooked yet they have real measurable effects on individual member-owners and our state at large. In the midst of a global...

New Report Shows Mining Not Alaska’s Next Golden Goose
Alaska stands today at a crucial crossroad, and we have to decide whether we double down on the failed economic policies of the past – and the pollution and resource destruction they bring – or embrace a truly sustainable future that relies on metals we’ve already produced and protects the very things that make Alaska unique.
On the Anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Disaster, Complacency & Neglect Are Roaring Back
A few minutes after midnight on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef, a glaring navigation hazard in Prince William Sound. The rest is history. Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (EVOS). And as we look back on the devastation...
Dunleavy Launches Yet Another Assault on Wild Alaskan Salmon
On January 15, the Dunleavy Administration welcomed-in 2021 with new proposed rules to strip Alaskans of our rights to keep water in our streams and lakes to protect our fish (see original post, below). Now, in response to strong public pushback, the Alaska Department...