Court upholds Endangered Species Act protections for Cook Inlet beluga whales

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (11/21/2011) - A federal judge today rejected the state of Alaska’s 2010 lawsuit that tried to strip Endangered Species Act protections for Cook Inlet beluga whales. The whales were listed as an endangered species in 2008. In today’s decision, the judge said that the best available science supports the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s determination that Cook Inlet beluga whales are in danger of extinction. While hunting was initially considered the cause of the significant decline of belugas in the Inlet, the population has continued to decline after hunting ceased in 1999.

The Alaska Center for the Environment, the Center for Biological Diversity, Cook Inletkeeper, Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the North Gulf Oceanic Society, represented by Trustees for Alaska, intervened in the lawsuit to defend the beluga listing against the state’s attack.

Once numbering 1,300, the Cook Inlet beluga population currently has only 300 to 400 individuals. This diminished population faces many threats. Cook Inlet, which borders the city of Anchorage, is the most populated and fastest-growing watershed in Alaska, and it is subject to significant offshore oil and gas development in beluga habitat. Additionally, the proposed billion-dollar Knik Arm Bridge will directly affect the belugas, and port expansion and a proposed giant coal mine and coal-export dock would also destroy key beluga habitat.

“The Cook Inlet beluga whale is one of Alaska’s most iconic wild animals, and we need to do all we can to prevent its extinction,” said Karla Dutton, Alaska director for Defenders of Wildlife. “A healthy beluga population in Cook Inlet is essential to the health of the inlet itself and the people and wildlife who depend on it. We’re gratified that the court sided with the scientists and kept in place the vital protections these whales need.”

While there are four other beluga whale populations in Alaska, Cook Inlet belugas are a genetically unique and geographically isolated population of whales that live in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. The whale’s population decline has been so severe that in 2006 the International Union for Conservation of Nature placed the Cook Inlet beluga on its “red list” of endangered species. The U.S. Marine Mammal Commission repeatedly requested that the Fisheries Service list the species under the Endangered Species Act.

“This case shows once again that the state of Alaska’s war on wildlife is a losing battle,” said the Center for Biological Diversity’s Alaska Director Rebecca Noblin. “The state is wasting taxpayer money on frivolous challenges to Cook Inlet beluga protections that are based on solid science.”

"Today's decision again clarifies that the belugas are in serious trouble. Now it's time to get serious about finding solutions. Legal sideshows by the state are getting us nowhere," said Sue Libenson, executive director of the Alaska Center for the Environment.

“This is clearly a case where science and the rule of law prevailed," said Taryn Kiekow, staff attorney with NRDC.  "The Cook Inlet belugas are an iconic species in Alaska and it is now absolutely essential that we protect them and their habitat if the population is to survive."

Links:

Learn more about Defenders' fight to protect Alaska's Cook Inlet beluga whales.

Contact(s):

William Lutz, Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-0269
Rebecca Noblin, Center for Biological Diversity, (907) 274-1110
Jessica Lass, Natural Resources Defense Council, (310) 434-2300
Brian Litmans, Trustees for Alaska, (907) 276-4244 ext. 107

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org.