Beluga whales added to ESA list

The federal government declared the beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet endangered on Friday. The feds say this will protect the marine mammals from going extinct, however the decision will have a serious economic impact.

The findings by NOAA put the Cook Inlet beluga under the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act. NOAA says the recovery of the whales has been hindered by development, economic, and industrial activities, a claim Alaska's leaders dispute. Federal scientists

say the belugas are in danger of becoming extinct.

"We did a status review and scientific analysis of the population and determined that there was a risk of extinction of approximately 26 percent of these whales," said Brad Smith, a biologist for NOAA.

Still, some are saying this listing has come too soon.

"We have been concerned for a long time and we continue to remain concerned. With that said however, we believe that this listing decision is a bit premature," said Doug Vincent-Lang, the endangered species coordinator, for the State of Alaska.

City and state officials believe the decline in the number of whales was in part due to unregulated harvest levels and those levels have now been set.

"Now what they are

doing is looking at sub populations, but the overall populations of belugas has been stable. What we should is ensure that happens and make sure the habitat is protected," said Mayor Mark Begich.

"We believe that the rate of growth that we have seen in the past 4 years, where we have increased from 278 animals up to about 375 animals, which is a 30 percent in the population," said Vincent-Lang.

As soon as the decision was announced, lawmakers began voicing their concerns over the economic

impact they anticipate.

"We as a community need to stand up and be counted and make sure that the folks that would impose this type of ruling on Anchorage and Alaska. This is a huge burden, a huge financial burden, that we just don't need right now," said Chris Birch, a member on the Anchorage Assembly.

"We are going to have to now see on how this impacts us. We hope they will let us continue to construct the port as we have designed it, as we have protected the belugas," said Begich.

While the decision to put the Cook Inlet beluga whale on the endangered list pleases many conservation groups who aim to protect and recover species and their habitats, many of our leaders say this puts the city and states economic interests in jeopardy.

"We are not happy with the announcement, we cherish our belugas, they are important to us, the population has stabilized over the past few years, we disagree on what the ruling that has come down," said Begich.

As the Cook Inlet beluga whales join the list of endangered species, many say the decision will affect our city and our state's finances.

"It's a terrible decision, it's a move by the anti development crowd, really to constrain and restrict any kind of development to commercial activity here in Alaska," said Birch.

Officials say important developments such as oil and gas exploration, the proposed Knik Arm Bridge, and the port of Anchorage all could be hit hard based on a finding they feel is not accurate.

"We are not impacting the belugas, but we are going to be right at the table very quickly because we can't afford those projects to be delayed," said Begich.

Officials say the decision may or may not affect the developments in the Cook Inlet, and they are willing to work together for the best interests of the whales and Alaska.

"The recovery of cook inlet beluga whales is going to take an effort not only on the part of the federal government but the state and local governments and citizens, so everybody has to pull together, and there are things we can do and maybe there are some things we can't do much about," said Smith.

"We will work with the federal government on this, but we will also work with the adjoining communities, Mat Su and Kenai, because they are going to have some impact," said Begich.

National leaders have spoke out on the beluga endangered listing.

Senator Stevens says this is a deliberate targeting of an area vital to the Alaskan economy to protect a species that is increasing in population.

Senator Murkowski said there are still too many significant scientific questions that remain and I believe it is difficult to justify a listing on a species where we have such a scarcity of data.

Congressman Young said the only thing that may become 'endangered' in the cook inlet may be the economic development, which is the lifeblood of the state of Alaska.

According to the NOAA findings, the Cook Inlet belugas are the only one of the five populations of belugas recognized within U.S. waters, which are considered the most isolated.

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