Beluga

by Ted Land Monday, July 12, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The state is putting together a spending plan to fight Alaska species' listings under the Endangered Species Act. The Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development has the next year or two to decide how best to spend $1.5 million to explain what it says are the negative effects of the polar bear and beluga whale listings. Lawmakers originally gathered the money for a conference in Anchorage, where panelists would speak on the effects of the polar bear and beluga whale listings -- but there was not enough support for the plan, and lawmakers transferred the money to the state.

by Ted Land Monday, March 1, 2010 JUNEAU, Alaska -- A group of residents from Beluga and Tyonek is asking lawmakers to help them stop plans for a nearby coal mine. But they're learning just how difficult it can be to make any real progress with such limited time at the capital. The session is almost half over and by now most residents will have to wait until next year to get any pressing issues before lawmakers. It's becoming quite apparent that with hundreds of bills in the legislature, the group from Tyonek and Beluga is not quite a priority for a legislature mostly concerned with oil taxes and a state budget.

Scientists offered the public a look at research and technology surrounding Cook Inlet beluga whales at a conference in Anchorage this week. The forum was meant to answer questions about the endangered animals, but did not delve into the National Marine Fisheries Service's proposal to designate parts of Cook Inlet as critical habitat for the whales. Scientists shared the latest research on health, population size, whale movement patterns and technical methods to track the animals -- like passive acoustic monitoring.

Effective Wednesday, two areas comprising 3,013 square miles are designated critical habitat for Cook Inlet beluga whales.  "The critical habitat designation is their entire habitat that they require to breed or feed or take care of their young," said Carole Holley, Alaska Co-Director for Pacific Environment.  The National Marine Fisheries Service believes there are currently about 320 Cook Inlet beluga whales. The species was listed as...

Sightseers in Turnagain Arm spotted some beluga whales in trouble in Turnagain Arm Tuesday evening. Whale experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received calls from people who believed they saw several belugas that were beached. NOAA sent a plane to search the area and officials spotted ten belugas beached on the Hope side of Turnagain Arm, across from Bird Point. The tide came back in around 8:30 p.m., and the belugas were swimming freely, according to the whale spotters.

The water and mudflats that surround parts of Anchorage may look inviting, but don't let the beauty fool you: it's incredibly dangerous, for both humans and animals. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received a call Tuesday afternoon that up to 20 beluga whales were beached in Turnagain Arm across from Bird Point.     The whales got into trouble when the tides went out exposing the mudflats, leaving them stranded for nearly six hours before a spotter reported to NOAA that the tides came back in and freed the whales.

Alaska State Troopers have identified the men involved in a fatal small-plane crash Sunday afternoon near Beluga Lake. Anchorage resident Timothy Hudok, 45, was killed in the crash while 44-year-old Robert Goodwill of North Carolina was seriously injured. Officials say the Cessna 150 with tail number N66268, which was registered to Hudok, crashed roughly three miles west of the lake, about 50 miles west of Anchorage. Relatives of the men notified authorities that the plane was overdue Sunday, and a rescue beacon aboard the plane indicated that it was near Beluga Lake.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a final rule designating more than 3,000 square miles of Cook Inlet as critical habitat for beluga whales Friday morning. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, which praises the designation, the habitat area is similar to one proposed in 2009 but clears small areas around the Port of Anchorage and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's Eagle River Flats Range. The ruling comes after a 2008 decision by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service to list the beluga whale as an endangered species.

A bore tide stranded a man on a rock off Beluga Point Wednesday night, prompting a dramatic rescue by firefighters. Ryan O'Connor climbed the rocks several times before, but says he could always predict the tide. The water came up to his waist within minutes, but rescue teams moved quickly to save him. When the high water rolled in, O'Connor scrambled to get to the highest point possible, but soon the water washed over the rock he was standing on. The cold water exhausted him to a point where he couldn't hold on much longer.

by Jackie Bartz Wednesday, February 03, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A decade ago Cook Inlet's beluga population dropped by 50 percent. Industry, environmentalists and government blame overhunting by Alaska Natives in local villages and from inside Anchorage. Alaska Natives say it's the dwindling salmon populations. The hunts stopped in 1999. With the belugas struggling to rebound quickly, scientists want to designate Cook Inlet as critical habitat, but environment and industry disagree on whether it's best for the belugas.