To the sponsors, speakers, and attendees of RDC’s 32nd Annual Meeting, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude. For those of you who missed the event, I am sorry. You missed a lot.
Hearing the stories of Bobbi, Marie, and Matthew and how their Native Corporations have made the commitment to responsible resource development without sacrificing their traditional ways of life was awe inspiring. Though not the same as hearing them in person, copies of their speeches are available on our website at www.akrdc.org.
The Alaska regional corporations are the future of our state and RDC is proud and honored to call all of them members.
Opportunities for Alaskans.
Hope for the future.
Honoring the past.
The models of responsible resource development these companies have put forward are something for all of us to emulate.
Gunalchéesh! Quyana! Tsin'aen! Thank you!
BELUGA WHALES IN COOK INLET PROPOSED FOR ESA LISTING
I was fascinated when I read an action alert on the website of the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation organization based in Arizona, urging its members to support the proposed listing of beluga whales in Cook Inlet under the Endangered Species Act. Itread, “Bush’s friends in the fossil fuel industry, who wish to build offshore oil rigs in the beluga’s critical habitat, are adamantly opposed to the whale’s protection.”
I could only laugh. As most know, there have been oil rigs in Cook Inlet for over 40 years. In fact, belugas in Cook Inlet have thrived with oil and gas exploration and development, commercial and sport fishing, vessel traffic, community wastewater discharges, and more. The well-being of wildlife, including belugas, is of utmost concern to all Alaskans, including “Bush’s friends in the fossil fuel industry.”
The agency responsible for the whales’ oversight has identified the lone cause of the beluga population decline as the unsustainable subsistence harvest of the mid-90s. This has now been limited to no more than two animals per year.
But still, as the Center’s action alert implies, development must be having a big impact on belugas. Interestingly, these animals possess the lowest contaminant level of any Alaskan beluga population in tissue sampling studies. It appears development and wildlife can coexist. No surprise.
Fortunately, beluga whales in Cook Inlet are showing signs of a growing population. A recent study has shown over 40 percent of the population is classified as sub-adult, and not yet capable of sexual reproduction. When these juveniles start reproducing, watch out! But note, it takes three years of parental investment to bring a new beluga into the population. As I’ve often said, they’re not mice. It will take time.
Another interesting thing to ponder is the fact that the development community has spent between $5 and $10 million alone in the last five years studying the beluga whales in Cook Inlet. Does this sound like folks that are opposed to the whale’s protection?
I dare ask, how much has the Center for Biological Diversity, or other conservation organizations for that matter, spent on the whale’s protection? Not on legal fees used to delay or stop responsible development, but on good hard science to learn more about the animals and their ecology.
Nearly 30,000 comments have been submitted on this listing to date, likely all from websites like the Center for Biological Diversity. I urge you to submit comments as well. However, I ask that you oppose the listing. Request more time for the whales to recover and encourage the agency to increase its research effort.
The comment deadline is August 3, and hearings will be held on July 19 in Homer and July 20 in Anchorage.
Additional information will be available soon on our website. I can only hope the the same people reading the Center’s website will read ours.
