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salmon

Dunleavy Launches Yet Another Assault on Wild Alaskan Salmon

By Bob Shavelson | January 15, 2021

It was just another Friday in the Great Land, which meant just another assault from the Dunleavy Administration on Alaska wild salmon and the people who try to protect them. Today the Dunleavy Administration announced new proposed rules to strip Alaskans of their right to keep water in wild salmon streams. Not surprisingly, the proposed […]

The systems that bind us

By Sue Mauger | December 30, 2020

In my early years learning about the ecology of streams, I spent a few summers in the sagebrush country of southeastern Oregon. I was studying desert springs measuring water chemistry, collecting bugs and identifying plants associated with each little oasis. I was discovering the complex connections of the natural world at a very micro-scale. I also learned […]

For Peat’s Sake

By Satchel Pondolfino | December 14, 2020

How do we value the land? This is the conversation the Homer Drawdown community has begun to explore. The most emphasized valuation of land is based on its market value. Of course, the worth of land cannot wholly be captured by monetary figures. The way the land feeds our soul, renders our way of life, […]

Dunleavy Chooses Oil Over Salmon in Cook Inlet

By Bob Shavelson | December 10, 2020

This past week, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council sent shockwaves across Alaska when it abruptly closed commercial salmon fishing in the federal waters of Lower Cook Inlet. The closure resulted from the State of Alaska’s blanket refusal to work with the federal government to co-manage the salmon fishery in Lower Cook Inlet. The irony […]

Is the Pebble Mine Dead?

By Bob Shavelson | November 25, 2020

On the day before Thanksgiving, Alaskans woke to astounding news: the Army Corps rejected a major permit for the Pebble mine. Never before had the Army Corps rejected a major permit for a large oil, gas or mining project in Alaska. Never. And it only came about after years and years of relentless pressure from […]

PEBBLE MINE IS A GIANT BLACK EYE FOR ALASKA

By Bob Shavelson | November 18, 2020

When I was young and my mom thought I was running with the wrong crowd, she had a simple admonition: if you lay down in the gutter, you get up dirty. That was long ago. But today, when I look at our industry “partners” in Alaska, it feels like we’re wallowing in the gutter. While […]

Alaska Salmon are Shrinking

By Sue Mauger | October 28, 2020

This summer we shared our latest paper on the importance of freshwater conditions for Cook Inlet Chinook Salmon and highlighted how important it is to understand stream-specific responses to climate change for better management of our valuable fisheries. Now we’d like to put the spotlight on other important research going on that is helping us […]

The Federal Government Wants to Industrialize Lower Cook Inlet

By Bob Shavelson | October 8, 2020

Forty-five years ago a group of Alaskans with a passion for Cook Inlet took on the oil and gas industry. And in a remarkable David and Goliath battle, they prevailed. Thanks to this small but dogged group of fishermen, scientists, artists and activists, the epic view across Kachemak Bay – and the remarkable resources of […]

The Pebble Partnership: When Lying Liars Tell Alaskans to “Trust the Process”

By Bob Shavelson | October 2, 2020

In late September, the “Pebble Tapes” dropped like a bomb on the Pebble Partnership, blasting public relations shrapnel through the Canadian corporation that will draw blood for a long time. As Pebble staggers through the smoke and fog of the Pebble Tape’s fallout, it’s engaging some tried and true corporate strategies for damage control. But […]

Johnson Tract Mine Prompts Big Questions

By Bob Shavelson | September 3, 2020

Another hardrock mine has reared its head in Cook Inlet, and it’s raising big questions from local property owners, fishermen and businesses. In late August, Inletkeeper flew to the west side of Cook Inlet to meet with local residents and representatives of High Gold – the junior Canadian mining interest currently exploring the Johnson Tract. […]

Local Food and Clean Water: a Matter of Community and Salmon Survival

By Robbi Mixon |

Over the past five years, as we’ve developed our local foods programming, the value of building and supporting local food systems has become increasingly clear in our work to protect the Cook Inlet watershed. The United Nations refers to food, energy and water as the “nexus” of sustainable development: food production requires both water and […]

Pebble Can Afford Fancy Lobbyists But Not a Feasibility Study to Show it has a Real Project

By Bob Shavelson | July 28, 2020

Talk is cheap, but numbers don’t lie. Northern Dynasty Minerals (NAK) – the junior Candian mining interest behind the proposed Pebble mine – did its damndest to hype its stock in the lead-up to the much-anticipated release of its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) earlier this month.  And while it came as no surprise the Army […]

Pebble Mine is Buying Permits Under the Trump Administration

By Bob Shavelson | July 22, 2020

Massive spending on lobbyists gives foreign mining interests unfair advantage over everyday Alaskans A new compilation by Cook Inletkeeper from U.S. Senate Lobbying Reports shows the Canadian mining interests behind the proposed Pebble mine have spent more than $15 million since 2007 on high-priced lobbyists to buy their way to federal permits.   And since 2017 […]

Mike Dunleavy Doesn’t Know Alaskan Values

By Bob Shavelson | July 16, 2020

Mike Dunleavy recently flew all the way to the east coast to stand by Donald Trump as he gutted rules under the nation’s “environmental magna carta” – the National Environmental Policy Act. Of course Mike Dunleavy has contorted himself in any number of ways to coddle a President who’s handling of the COVID pandemic has […]

Chinook salmon declines related to changes in freshwater conditions

By Sue Mauger | July 13, 2020

A new study – led by University of Alaska researchers and in collaboration with Cook Inletkeeper – provides the first evidence that declines in many of Alaska’s Chinook salmon populations can be attributed in part to climate-driven changes in their freshwater habitats.

The Pebble Partnership: Still Tone Deaf After All these Years

By Bob Shavelson | June 21, 2020

First impressions are often telling. Inletkeeper first met with Northern Dynasty in Homer in 2005, before the Candian junior mining interest – which had never before developed a mining project – formed the Pebble Limited Partnership.  The meeting was cordial but somewhat fraught, because Northern Dynasty had recently announced plans to dig a massive hole […]

Hilcorp Wants to Increase Toxic Dumping in Cook Inlet. And ADEC is happy to help.

By Bob Shavelson | June 2, 2020

TAKE ACTION NOW: https://inletkeeper.org/hilcorpdumping/ CHECK OUT OUR SHORT VIDEO: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT5Fqlfbubs In today’s increasingly greedy world, oil and gas companies will go to just about any length to make as much profit as possible. And Texas-based Hilcorp is the poster child for profits at any cost. Since it gobbled up the lion’s share of oil and […]

Dunleavy Administration Admits it Rubber-Stamped Highly Flawed Permit for Donlin Mine

By Bob Shavelson | May 20, 2020

Government bureaucrats love to highlight Alaska’s work protecting our environment, because it helps sell the idea that Alaska’s “open for business.” The big mining, oil and gas corporations also like to tout Alaska’s green bona fides, because it helps insulate them from public criticism.  There’s only one problem: it’s all a lie. That’s because Alaska’s […]

Agency Experts: Pebble Review Still Fails the Test

By Bob Shavelson | May 12, 2020

When Pebble’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) came out last year, it was widely panned as a superficial nothing burger, designed simply to push the project to the next stage of the process.  How bad was it? So bad that agencies reporting to Donald Trump and Mike Dunleavy had this to say:   The Department of […]

Dan Sullivan Needs to Tell the Army Corps: Support Alaskans, Not Pebble

By Bob Shavelson | April 6, 2020

Alaskans fighting the Pebble mine have largely focused their ire on Senator Lisa Murkowski, because she’s the more moderate politician and someone who might actually do something.  Dan Sullivan, on the other hand, has largely escaped scrutiny, because Alaskans know he’s a shameless toady for the billionaire Koch dynasty and deep in the pocket of […]

Inletkeeper Joins Alaska Natives in Lawsuit Over Donlin Pipeline

By Bob Shavelson | March 19, 2020

Today, Cook Inletkeeper joined four Native Tribes in a legal challenge to the Dunleavy Administration’s decision to let Donlin Gold build a 315 mile-long gas pipeline across hundreds of fish streams from Cook Inlet to Donlin’s mine site next to the Kuskokwim River.  Lawyers from Earthjustice filed the lawsuit in Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage […]

Donlin Gold: Standing Firmly Against Free Speech for Iditarod Mushers

By Bob Shavelson | March 17, 2020

The Iditarod is truly the Last Great Race.  But it has also struggled for funding in recent years, and in 2016, it capitulated to major sponsors – including Donlin Gold – to install a “gag rule,” which prohibits mushers from criticizing race sponsors, among others. Rule 53 of the Iditarod Official 2020 Rules states: “All Iditarod mushers will be held […]

Alaska Leads the Nation in Toxic Releases for a Good Reason: Large Mines Like Pebble Are Toxic

By Bob Shavelson | February 19, 2020

In 1984, a cyanide gas leak from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of people in what’s been called the world’s worst industrial disaster. Less than a year after the Bhopal disaster, a Union Carbide plant in Institute, West Virginia, suffered another chemical leak which sent dozens of […]

Art as Strategy: Envisioning a Just Transition

By Kaitlin Vadla | February 6, 2020

This is the second piece in a series of Inletkeeper’s staff reflections from their experience at the Alaska’s first-ever Just Transition Summit Alaska’s Just Transition is about getting from where we’re at to where we want to be. We’re in a single revenue source, fossil-fuel based economy that is unsustainable for workers and the environment. […]

Oops, He Did It Again! Dunleavy Stiffs Alaskans.

By Bob Shavelson | December 4, 2019

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 their front group Americans for […]

Dunleavy Opens Spill Rules for Industry Rollbacks

By Bob Shavelson | October 16, 2019

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 aggressive anti-consumer, anti-environment agenda.  Today, from Koch Industries to Exxon, and from […]

Listen to Hilcorp’s Relentless Seismic Pounding in Lower Cook Inlet Fish & Whale Habitat

By Bob Shavelson | September 15, 2019

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 blasting plans here, and you can call-in every morning at 10:00 […]

Massive Hilcorp Seismic Vessel Descends on Lower Cook Inlet Fisheries

By Bob Shavelson | September 10, 2019

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 week, but local fishermen and whale scientists quickly spotted the giant vessel […]

Seismic Airgun Assault to Start in Lower Cook Inlet this Fall

By Bob Shavelson | August 19, 2019

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 our gear, the fish aren’t there. Any fisherman, or fisherman worth […]

The Day the Bears Went Hungry

By Cook Inletkeeper | July 11, 2019

Pebble Mine, Brown Bears & the Climate Crisis   For the past year, Inletkeeper has been studying the brown bears in Lower Cook Inlet, to understand the potential impacts on bears and the bear viewing industry from the proposed transportation corridor and export terminal from the Pebble Mine.  Lower Cook Inlet boasts the highest concentration of […]

Heat Wave Hits Cook Inlet Salmon Streams

By Sue Mauger | July 10, 2019

Climate Crisis Sends Stream Temperatures Off the Charts As Alaskans suffer through the smoke, haze and danger of a record-breaking heat wave, Alaska’s salmon are suffering too. On July 7th, stream temperatures topped 81.7 F (27.6 C) in the Deshka River, a major salmon stream on the west side of Cook Inlet in the Mat […]

Salmon Stream Temperatures Off the Charts

By Cook Inletkeeper |

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 10, 2019 HEAT WAVE HITS COOK INLET SALMON STREAMSClimate Crisis Sends Stream Temperatures Off the Charts (PDF Version Here) HOMER, AK— As Alaskans suffer through the smoke, haze and danger of a record-breaking heat wave, Alaska’s salmon are suffering too. On July 7th, stream temperatures topped 81.7 oF (27.6 oC) in the Deshka River, […]

DUNLEAVY TO INCREASE INDUSTRY POLLUTION IN COOK INLET FISHERIES

By Bob Shavelson | May 22, 2019

Cook Inletkeeper today called-out the Dunleavy Administration for weakening a key Clean Water Act permit that will allow the oil and gas industry to increase toxic dumping in prime salmon, halibut, and beluga whale habitat.  The proposed permit covers oil and gas production wastes from offshore platforms and other facilities in Cook Inlet. [Read comments […]

Bear Viewing is Big Business in Cook Inlet. But Don’t Ask the Pebble People.

By Bob Shavelson | May 14, 2019

New study shows bear viewing industry supports nearly 500 jobs and more than $34 million in sales annually See Report Summary here & Full Report here. We’re getting tired talking about what a stupid idea it is to put a giant, toxic hole in the headwaters of the world’s greatest sockeye fishery.  We’ve grown uncomfortably […]

How Much Are Alaska’s Most Outstanding Waters Worth to You?

By Bob Shavelson | April 26, 2019

UPDATE: February 2020. The Alaska Miners Association failed to secure passage of legislation to prevent Alaskans from protecting our most important water resources last session. So, what’s a well-heeled mining trade group with a fancy lobbyist to do? Keep pushing. Now, the Alaska Mining Association has amended the original legislation (HB 138), with a tried […]

UPDATE! May 17, 2019

By Bob Shavelson | April 9, 2019

Court Dismisses Pebble’s Bogus Effort to Silence Fishermen Dunleavy Administration Wastes State Money on Frivolous Lawsuit In April we wrote about Pebble’s ham-fisted attempts to silence Bristol Bay fishermen with a frivolous lawsuit (see below).  Today, the Alaska Superior Court agreed that Pebble’s lawsuit had absolutely no merit, and it dismissed the case. If you’ve […]

The Pebble Mine & the Kochtopus

By Bob Shavelson | March 28, 2019

If you’re a semi-conscious Alaskan, you probably know by now the billionaire Koch brothers have their hands around the throat of democracy in the Last Frontier.  You may recall how the Koch Brother’s front groups – the Alaska Policy Forum, Power the Future, and Americans for Prosperity- Alaska Chapter – waged an out-and-out war to […]

Pebble Mine:Voices from the Frontline

By Cook Inletkeeper | March 27, 2019

Featured photo: Michael Melford The Army Corps of Engineers began their public hearings in Naknek, AK on Monday for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding the proposed Pebble Mine Plan. At the same time that residents from rural Alaska make arrangements to speak out at these public hearings, our State Legislature in Juneau is proceeding […]

Continued Toxic Oil Dumping in Cook Inlet Fisheries About One Thing: Money

By Bob Shavelson | March 20, 2019

< Submit your Public Comment online here > When I interviewed for my job with Cook Inletkeeper in 1995, the hiring committee handed me a draft Clean Water Act permit for oil and gas discharges in Cook Inlet, and asked me how I would change it to reduce pollution. Twenty four years later I still […]

Pebble Lies & Lobbyists

By Bob Shavelson | March 5, 2019

Since Pebble reared its head more than 15 years ago, its supporters have told many lies.

The Pebble EIS: Good for Fire Starter

By Bob Shavelson | February 28, 2019

Our conclusion: the Pebble EIS is a bad joke. It’s incomplete. It’s unscientific. And for every Alaskan who cares about Bristol Bay, it’s wholly unacceptable.

Pebble Mine says Everything is Fine at Industry Outlook Forum

By Bob Shavelson | January 11, 2019

I attended a presentation this week in Homer by Mark Hamilton, Vice President of External Affairs and mouthpiece for the Pebble mine, and it was remarkable on a couple fronts.  First, the tone. Hamilton spoke down to the crowd like a seasoned used car salesman, highlighting only the possible benefits of the Pebble Mine, and […]

Stand For Salmon: The Long View

By Cook Inletkeeper | October 31, 2018

Written by Sue Mauger, Science Director We live in, play around and benefit from a salmon landscape. Wild salmon unite and define us as Alaskans. We pride ourselves in living differently up here, but we are making the same mistakes that others made across the world when they chose incompatible development over salmon. Stand for […]

Former U.S. Commissioner to Anadromous Fish Commission Says “Vote YES on 1!”

By Bob Shavelson | October 23, 2018

I spent 38 yrs. managing fisheries from California to the Arctic, and I support Ballot Measure 1. My career included: Salmonid (salmon, steelhead, trout) management as a Pacific and North Pacific Fishery Management Council member; developing amendments to the Forest Practices Act; an advisor in US/Canada Salmon Treaty negotiations and implementation, and reviewer of funding […]

SALMON EXPERTS URGE ALASKANS TO SUPPORT BALLOT MEASURE 1

By Cook Inletkeeper | October 17, 2018

Today Cook Inletkeeper released a statement from 58 retired state and federal agency scientists and managers who strongly support the Stand for Salmon Ballot Measure 1. Taken together, these experts have more than 1500 years’ experience managing and overseeing salmon and salmon habitat In Alaska. “Exxon, Pebble and the other corporations are smothering Alaskans with […]

Our Swimming Permanent Fund

By Cook Inletkeeper | October 9, 2018

On the same day PFD dividends hit bank accounts this year, I thawed a filet of silver salmon from the Kenai River.  I remember feeling so grateful with that particular fresh, beautiful fish in my hands this August. With the sockeye fishery closed just weeks before, I started to wonder what our freezer would look […]

The Perfect Mouthpiece for the Corporate “NO” Salmon Campaign

By Bob Shavelson | October 2, 2018

Desperate times call for desperate measures. What else could explain the choice of Randy Bates – former ADFG Habitat Division Director – as a prominent spokesman in folksy TV and video ads for the corporate campaign against Alaska salmon? Inletkeeper had a front row seat for Mr. Bates’ government career, and what we saw explains […]

When is a Lie a Lie?: The Corporate Campaign Against Alaska Salmon

By Bob Shavelson | September 20, 2018

Calling a person or a group a liar is somewhat taboo, even in our evolving post-fact world, because the accusation is fairly serious. And of course the main difference between a flat out lie and garden variety misinformation comes down to intent: did the speaker know what he or she was saying was untrue, yet […]

The Shadowy Backdrop to the Corporate Campaign Against Alaska Salmon

By Bob Shavelson | September 11, 2018

It’s no secret the corporate campaign against the Stand for Salmon ballot initiative has amassed more than $10 million to try to stop Alaskans from updating our 60-year-old, one-sentence-long salmon habitat law. But there’s a darker effort unfolding behind the scenes, and it’s not pretty. Pebble, Donlin, ConocoPhillips, British Petroleum and the other big corporations […]

Last Week the Walker Administration Proved Why We Need the Stand for Salmon Ballot Measure 1

By Bob Shavelson | September 4, 2018

In the lead-up to the long holiday weekend, when Alaskans were distracted with camping and hunting and fishing plans, the Walker Administration quietly issued two decisions which show exactly why we need to pass the Stand for Salmon Ballot Measure 1 to take politics out of our permitting system and to modernize our old, ineffective […]

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