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Defenders Magazine
Defenders in Action: Beluga Whales Granted Federal Protection
After pressure from Defenders of Wildlife and its members and coalition partners, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that beluga whales in Alaska will now receive protection under the Endangered Species Act. The decision came after six months of heel-dragging by the Bush administration and opposition from Gov. Sarah Palin.
A coalition of groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, first petitioned to have the Cook Inlet beluga whale population, a genetically distinct species, receive federal endangered species protection in 1999. These whales have been in a steady decline for more than a decade, dropping from about 1,300 in the 1980s to about 375 today. A variety of problems are suspected of compromising their habitat, from sewage discharge and shipping traffic to offshore oil and gas development.
Palin has fought against the proposed protection, claiming such a move would threaten oil and gas development and other large-scale projects. Her efforts and those of the Bush administration were countered by more than 180,000 public comments sent to NMFS—the most it has ever received for any proposed action—which demanded that the Bush administration stop delaying the decision.
"We're absolutely thrilled that the Cook Inlet beluga whales will finally receive the protections they need to recover," says Karla Dutton, Alaska director of Defenders of Wildlife. "The science supporting NMFS' decision to list the whale as an endangered species is clear. We must all agree to work together now to ensure that they can continue to call Alaska's waters home. We need to determine what is stopping the population from recovering and we look forward to working with NMFS and other stakeholders to achieve this important goal."
For more on what Defenders is doing to help the beluga whale, visit www.defenders.org/belugas.
