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Beluga Whale Finally Protected

Monday, October 20, 2008
Posted in Whales | Tagged Whales

! In response to the Center for Biological Diversity’s lawsuit, the National Marine Fisheries Service today placed the Cook Inlet beluga whale on the federal endangered species list. The beluga certainly needs saving — constant and growing exposure to toxic oil and gas pollution, urban development, and other pressures have caused the beluga’s population to decline from about 1,300 to 375 since the 1990s.

To save the beluga, the Center for Biological Diversity and allies petitioned the administration in 2006 to list it as an “endangered species.”  We then sued the administration in June 2008 after it illegally took a six-month extension — as requested by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin — on its decision to protect the whale. And after it had already stalled for more than a year.

We’re ecstatic about the victory — but this is only the first step toward recovery for the Cook Inlet beluga. If the whale is to survive, it must have meaningful protections put in place. Federally protected “critical habitat” zones must be mapped out, and the polluted waters of Cook Inlet need to be protected and cleaned up.

Thanks for your support. This victory couldn’t have been achieved without the help of the thousands of Center supporters who donated their time, money, and voices to save the Cook Inlet beluga whale. And thanks also to our litigation allies at Trustees for Alaska. 

Kierán Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity