Alaska's endangered beluga whales face extinction as gold mining threatens their last refuge

Govind Takale

Once 1,300 strong, Cook Inlet's beluga population has crashed to just 331 whales as industrial development squeezes their habitat.

Photo Source: Marine Mammal Commission

Environmental groups are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for approving a gold mining project at the headwaters flowing into their critical habitat

Photo Credits: Ansgar Walk (CC BY-SA 2.5)

The Johnson Tract project would build roads and expand an airstrip near Tuxedni Bay – the only known winter feeding ground for these critically endangered whales 

Photo Credits:Steve Snodgrass(CC BY 4.0)

"The Army Corps' failure to assess impacts to the Cook Inlet beluga whale is a grave lapse in environmental oversight," says Cook Inletkeeper representative 

Photo Source: DCSL (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Belugas use sound to navigate, communicate and find food – making aircraft noise potentially devastating to their survival

Photo Source: ashamandour (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

What happens when acid mine drainage leaks into waters supporting salmon, bears, wolves and some of Alaska's richest ecosystems?

Photo Credits: A. Shamandour (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

"Developing a gold mine here would be environmentally catastrophic," warns Traditional Chief Gary Harrison of Chickaloon Village Traditional Council

Photo Source: Premier.gov.ru (CC BY 4.0)

The lawsuit claims officials violated three major environmental laws by rushing approval without proper wildlife impact studies

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

As this legal battle unfolds, will Cook Inlet's distinctive white whales survive, or will gold mining push them past the point of no return?

Photo Source:Stan Shebs (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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