Inletkeeper Blog
Letter from the Director
As we approach solstice anticipating the returning light, I’ve 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...
Make Time to Protect the Natural Values of Kachemak Bay
What’s Happening: The Alaska Department of Fish & Game recently issued a public notice to repeal the current ban on jetskis and other personal watercraft in the Kachemak Bay Critical Habitat Area. The deadline for comments has been extended to no later than 5:00...
Oops, He Did It Again! Dunleavy Stiffs Alaskans.
It’s safe to say Mike Dunleavy is the least popular governor in state history, and for good reason. He ran for office on a wave of dark money, with the phony promise every Alaskan would get a $6,700 PFD check. Then he locked arms with the billionaire Koch Brothers and...
DUNLEAVY ROLLBACKS IGNORE PROPERTY RIGHTS & TOURISM DOLLARS
Local businesses, voters and property owners around Lower Cook Inlet responded recently to the Dunleavy Administration’s abrupt decision last week to unravel safeguards to Kachemak Bay. On November 19, ADFG staff notified its planning team the “governor’s office...
Public Comment Due Dec. 13: Alaska’s Biggest Business Deal of the 21st Century
2014 fire on Hilcorps' Baker Platform in Cook Inlet The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has extended public comment on proposals to transfer BP pipelines and other assets – including BP’s interests in the Trans Alaska Pipeline (TAPs) to Hilcorps. The new deadline is...
Dunleavy Opens Spill Rules for Industry Rollbacks
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Americans joined together to secure some of the best air, land and water protections in the world. Then the pendulum started to swing back, with billions of dollars from corporations, think tanks and phony “astroturf” groups pushing an...
Listen to Hilcorp’s Relentless Seismic Pounding in Lower Cook Inlet Fish & Whale Habitat
Hilcorp’s seismic air gun blasting program started in full force this past weekend, with the seismic vessel Polarcus Alima running transects across some of the most important fish and whale habitat in Lower Cook Inlet. You can get an update on Hilcorp's daily seismic...
Massive Hilcorp Seismic Vessel Descends on Lower Cook Inlet Fisheries
As fishermen left the Homer Harbor Monday morning (September 9) to longline halibut in Lower Cook Inlet, the 273’ seismic vessel Polarcus Alima darkened the horizon in Kachemak Bay. The vessel had turned off its AIS vessel tracking system after leaving Japan last...
Lawsuit Challenges Hilcorp’s Plan to Blast Cook Inlet Beluga Whales
ANCHORAGE— Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s approval of rules allowing Hilcorp Alaska LLC to harm Cook Inlet beluga whales and other marine mammals as it expands its offshore oil and gas operations in Cook Inlet. Cook...
Seismic Airgun Assault to Start in Lower Cook Inlet this Fall
Seismic air guns used for oil and gas exploration produce the loudest underwater noise next to explosions and warfare, and they can have devastating impacts on marine life. As a fisherman from Newfoundland put it, “Whenever a seismic boat goes past and we drop...