This week, the Cook Inlet beluga whale population near Anchorage has made it onto the list of endangered species, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced. According to NOAA, despite all attempts of protection, the beluga whale
population does not show signs of recovery, and a federal action to ensure the existence of the species should be taken.

Over the past decade, the beluga whale population has been under constant decline, NOAA revealed. Between 1994 and 1998, the Cook Intel beluga whale population declined by 50 percent, and only 375 whales were left by 2007 and 2008. Despite the troubling declining numbers, some of the Alaska Native hunters continued hunting for subsistence between 1999 and 2006, although no specimens have been harvested in the past two years.

The Cook Inlet beluga whale population’s future is endangered by strandings, NOAA pointed out. The continuous development within and along the upper Cook Inlet, as well as oil and gas exploration, development, and production, industrial activities that
pollute the waters, but also disease and predation are the key factors contributing to the decline in the whale population here.

The United States recognizes the Cook Inlet beluga whales as one of the five populations of belugas wihtin its waters. The other populations inhabit the Bristol Bay area, the eastern Chukchi Sea, and the Beaufort Sea. Out of them, the Cook Inlet belugas are
the most isolated ones, and their recovery is in danger right now.

However, as much as NOAA highlighted the importance of protecting the endangered whales, Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is a strong opponent of enlisting them as endangered. Gov. Palin has also opposed the polar bear decision earlier this year, suing the federal government for adopting it, which clearly interfered with her administration’s plans of offshore oil drilling.

The final rules on the decision of listing the Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered is expected to be published on October 22 in
the Federal Register.