Inletkeeper Blog
Does Cook Inlet Need More Oil & Gas Leasing and Dumping?
Early last September, as fishermen left the Homer Harbor for nearby cod and halibut fishing grounds, the 273’ seismic vessel Polarcus Alima darkened the horizon in Kachemak Bay. The massive vessel - under contract to Hilcorp - proceeded to blast seismic airguns for...
For Peat’s Sake
How do we value the land? This is the conversation the Homer Drawdown community has begun to explore. The most emphasized valuation of land is based on its market value. Of course, the worth of land cannot wholly be captured by monetary figures. The way the land feeds...
Dunleavy Chooses Oil Over Salmon in Cook Inlet
This past week, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council sent shockwaves across Alaska when it abruptly closed commercial salmon fishing in the federal waters of Lower Cook Inlet. The closure resulted from the State of Alaska’s blanket refusal to work with the...
People, Planet and Profits: Pillars for Building Sustainable & Equitable Food Systems
Food systems, like all systems, are made up of interconnected links, with change in one link inevitably affecting others. Links include all aspects of the food system, from farmers to processors, to retail and transportation. Our modern food system is focused on...
GreenWave’s Regenerative Ocean Farming: A Case Study in Generating Ecosystem Services
Currently about 40% of the world’s population resides within 100 kilometers from the coast, many of which depend on ocean resources to make a living, through subsistence, tourism, recreation, and other economic activities. In 2010, 39% (123.3 million) of US...
Is the Pebble Mine Dead?
On the day before Thanksgiving, Alaskans woke to astounding news: the Army Corps rejected a major permit for the Pebble mine. Never before had the Army Corps rejected a major permit for a large oil, gas or mining project in Alaska. Never. And it only came about after...
PEBBLE MINE IS A GIANT BLACK EYE FOR ALASKA
When I was young and my mom thought I was running with the wrong crowd, she had a simple admonition: if you lay down in the gutter, you get up dirty. That was long ago. But today, when I look at our industry “partners” in Alaska, it feels like we’re wallowing in the...
New Pebble Tapes: Alaskans Will Pay for Pebble Mine Development
Today another public relations bombshell tore into the Pebble Partnership, with the release of new tapes by the Environmental Investigation Agency showing Northern Dynasty’s Ron Thiessen bragging about the company’s political influence over Alaska Senators Dan...
Alaska Salmon are Shrinking
This summer we shared our latest paper on the importance of freshwater conditions for Cook Inlet Chinook Salmon and highlighted how important it is to understand stream-specific responses to climate change for better management of our valuable fisheries. Now we’d like...
Guest Blog: Exxon Restoration Fund Process Should Maintain Strong Public Participation
Background: The Exxon Valdez Trustees Council (EVOSTC) was established after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill to oversee restoration of the injured ecosystem through the use of the $900 million civil settlement. The Council consists of three state and three federal trustees...