Protecting Alaska's Cook Inlet watershed and the life it sustains since 1995.
As we wait with anticipation for the EPA’s 404(c) Final Determination on Pebble mine later this month, Inletkeeper continues to ask questions about the Donlin Gold mine. The Donlin Gold mine would be a massive open-pit complex next to the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska and it presents sweeping risks to wild salmon habitat stretching […]
— Sarah Anne Sulzer This year, I connected with Inletkeeperafter my mom and I went into the Community Action Studio in Soldotna. I love animals and got hooked feeding the baby goats and chickens through the Community Compost project. I’m passionate about climate change and decided I could help get more young people involved with […]
Waqaa, Cama-i, Cissiarougua. Wiinga Yup’iaq angun, wii Qusquqvagmiu-llu. (Greetings, My Name is Ciissiar (Little-Bug), I am a Yup’ik man, and I am from the Kuskokwim River). My parents are Allen Simeon of Aniak married to Laura Simeon of Kalskag and Gloria Simeon of Bethel married to Michael Meeks of Kenai. I am fairly new to the lower […]
Working together, Alaskans are a powerful force for positive change in our communities. Let’s roll up our sleeves and put local solutions into action! We’ve all seen what happens when outsiders come in and do things without meaningful input from locals: We get cookie cutter houses built for Florida winters where all the roofs shed […]
The blue lines on topographic maps necessarily under-represent the complex movement of freshwater across floodplains, through wetlands and gravel bars. For a juvenile fish, the blue lines are experienced as a maze of currents, temperature, food and hiding places, while a migrating adult salmon wends its way along the blue lines of riffles and pools […]
Cook Inletkeeper has been keeping a watchful eye on the west side of the Susitna River for years. When the state of Alaska permitted a 315-mile right-of-way for a gas pipeline to fuel the proposed Donlin Gold Mine, cutting a massive swath from Cook Inlet, over the Alaska Range to the mine site, we joined […]
You look at seed catalogs in December. You buy snow blowers in June. You mend nets in August. You prepare for your future guided by your hopes for the future. So let’s all brush aside the fog of uncertainty clouding our vision over these last 18 months and prepare for the future we want in […]
The past 18 months have illuminated the tremendous unsustainable practices and social inequities throughout many sectors, including our globalized food system. We have seen food processors fall ill from lack of sick leave and protective equipment. Severely delayed global supply chains have led to massive food waste and higher food costs. Lost incomes have exacerbated […]
Fat Bear Week brings the wonder and joy of our Cook Inlet bears to people around the world! This year–for the fourth time!!–Otis (or brown bear 480) was crowned king! Otis–relying on the amazing rich nutrients in Katmai–ended the season weighing over 1,000 pounds. Not the largest bear of the bunch but a survivor! Otis […]
At Inletkeeper, we often talk about the “myth of rigorous permitting.” And the state has provided us with a perfect example of what we mean with their water quality certification of the proposed Donlin Mine. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) mission is “conserving, improving, and protecting Alaska’s natural resources and environment to enhance […]
Image credit: 2017 Human Mosaic Aerial Art; Lead Artist: Mavis Muller; Photographer: John Newton The science is clear and lacking a hint of doubt – human activity is driving the degree and pace of climate change. While the data and scientific community have reached consensus, climate justice recognizes that the crisis is bigger than physical science alone […]
Through the Central Kenai Peninsula’s Community Compost project, we’ve learned just how much organic matter matters in our watershed. At number three out of the top 100 solutions to reverse global warming (drawdown.org), reducing food waste will take a huge bite out of methane emissions, something cold-water fish like our beloved salmon will appreciate. A […]
As we transition from long summer nights to fall, the autumnal equinox reminds us that Solarize the Kenai is nearing the end of its 2021 season. Inletkeeper proudly supports this volunteer-led effort to help make clean energy more affordable to Kenai Peninsula residents. In 2020, 84 people added photovoltaic (PV) rooftop panels to their homes […]
The Kachemak Bay Conservation Center (KBCC), located on Ben Walters Ln in Homer, houses several conservation organizations like Inletkeeper and Kachemak Bay Conservation Society who work to protect and preserve this place we call home. When the KBCC was built in 2001 with the vision of creating a space “dedicated to preserving the ecological integrity […]
The fact that fish need water and that Alaskans love their fish should not be controversial. But the House Fisheries Committee held a meeting to learn about the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) proposed changes to the regulations that allow Alaskans to keep water in streams for fish. Although DNR refused to show up, Cook […]
If you were alive in the 1970s, you probably remember the “Crying Native American” ad. It came in the wake of the first Earth Day, when millions of Americans flocked to the streets, driven by fresh visions of burning pollution in Ohio’s Cuyahoga River and the outrage of blackened California beaches after the Unocal oil […]
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 concerns about threats to water resources—both old and new—as we consider future projects […]
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 Sale 258, which had been rushed through in a matter of months […]
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 climate crisis and ever growing economic disparities, our local institutions matter and, while all […]
In early January, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) spit out an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 1 million acre + Oil & Gas Lease Sale 258. BOEM spent a mere 3 months on the EIS; never before had the federal government rushed through an environmental review so quickly, and BOEM’s haste […]
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 […]
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 […]
Background: The Exxon Valdez Trustees Council (EVOSTC) was established after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill to oversee restoration of the injured ecosystem through the use of the $900 million civil settlement. The Council consists of three state and three federal trustees (or their designees). The Council is advised by members of the public and by members of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Alaska’s land, water and communities are facing a climate crisis, and we all know the problem. Surface air temperatures in the Arctic are rising at twice the rate of average global warming. A hotter, more arid atmosphere is melting the state’s iconic glaciers at a troubling pace, aggravating destructive forest fires. Climate change-induced ocean acidification […]
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 […]
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.
There are few icons of wilderness as powerful as the bears of southwest Alaska. With thousands of them living wild on the Alaska Peninsula, they play crucial roles as ecosystem curators and economic drivers, drawing wildlife lovers from all over the world who support the region’s lucrative sustainable bear viewing industry. Once regarded as untouchable, […]
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. […]
UPDATE – FEBRUARY 3, 2020. Today, Goldman Sachs responded to the letter (see below) from over 550 Alaskans applauding its decision to stop funding fossil fuel projects in the Arctic. In a short letter, Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO David Solomon wrote “climate transition is a critical priority” for the company. While this of course […]
Kohtr’elneyh • Remembering Forward • Alaska’s Just Transition Summit, January 8 – 10, 2020 • Fairbanks Kohtr’elneyh (We Remember) is the Lower Tanana language of the Benhti’ Kenaga So what is a Just Transition? Just Transition initiatives shift the economy from dirty energy to community-controlled energy: from funding new roads to expanding public transit, from incinerators […]
December 30, 2019 Bob Shavelson The revelation that Gov. Mike Dunleavy parroted corporate talking points in his efforts to lobby the Trump administration to open the Pebble Mine should concern every Alaskan who cares about wild salmon and strong local economies. And it reveals a disturbing trend that ignores the rule of law and poses […]
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 fighting the repeal of the jetski ban in […]
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 December 13, 2019. While BP and Hilcorp have negotiated this deal for more than a year, the RCA has made an […]
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 […]
Throughout his campaign for Governor, then later in defense of his sweeping cuts to kids, the elderly and rural Alaska, Mike Dunleavy has talked a lot about an “honest budget.” In fact, that’s what he calls it on the official state web site: An Honest Budget. Most Alaskans alarmed at the Dunleavy budget cuts, and […]
In May 2019, Inletkeeper released a report (see below) showing the pile of money Pebble is spending on high-end lobbyists to influence the Trump Administration’s so-called “permitting process.” The report showed that since the beginning of the Trump administration, Pebble has paid $4.43 million to in-house and external lobbyists. Since 2007, that number balloons to […]
Act NOW to Protect Salmon Habitat – Comments Due March 22 BACKGROUND: The proposed Donlin mine along the banks of the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska would be a massive open gold mine. To power the facility, Donlin plans a 315 mile-long natural gas pipeline from Cook Inlet through the Skwentna, Yentna and Kuskokwim drainages. […]
Alaska is the most profitable oil and gas province in the world. Yet under current forecasts, Alaska is staring down the barrel of a $1.6 billion deficit for the coming fiscal year. Governor Dunleavy came into office promising to cut expenses to balance our budget. But even if he fired every state employee, he’d still wouldn’t be […]
ADD YOUR NAME to demand that Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy return the Climate Change Task Force information and action plan documents to the official state website. There is no debate. Our national reports read loud and clear: Alaska is warming faster than the rest of the planet and the cost of doing nothing grows every day. Alaska should […]
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 […]
ExxonMobil has donated a total of $1 Million to vote “No’ for salmon on Ballot Measure 1. In 2017, Exxon Mobil Corporation earned 2nd place on the Fortune 500 list, making it the largest privately-owned oil and energy company in the world. Exxon enjoyed profits over 19.7 BILLION dollars. Or, enough to cover the $507.5 million […]
For the past 23 years, Cook Inletkeeper has worked hard for clean water and healthy habitat in Cook Inlet and around Alaska. When we worked alongside residents in Tyonek and Beluga to prevent a coal company from Texas from mining through 14 miles of salmon streams on the west side of Cook Inlet, we witnessed […]
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 […]
You might hear us talk a little bit about salmon around here. We love them, it’s true. Because, of course, we all live in one of the last strongholds of wild salmon on earth. That’s right, on THE-PLANET. Stop and think about that for a moment… The conquest of human beings across this continent over […]
Alaskans are pushing the Stand for Salmon Initiative because we know our permitting system favors big corporations over everyday Alaskans concerned about fish habitat protection. Here’s a perfect example. In 2009, a group of Alaskans filed an application with the Alaska DNR to reserve water in a stream on the west side of Cook Inlet […]
Why is a women’s group attacking clean water safeguards?The answer tells a larger story about how massive corporations have bought our government and our politicians. And it’s on prominent display in the Last Frontier. In 2015, the Obama Administration adopted a long-needed rule to clarify the Clean Water Act’s wetlands protection provisions. Over the years, […]
