Ladywriter 7,783 Report post Posted January 15, 2009 Alaska seeks to block U.S. protections for belugas By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Five months after suing to keep polar bears off the U.S. threatened species list, Alaska's government said Wednesday it plans to issue a similar challenge to block federal protections for a struggling population of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, a mature oil-producing basin. Former vice presidential hopeful Gov. Sarah Palin said the energy-rich state believes the Endangered Species Act protections for belugas announced in October by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are unwarranted... Beluga whales swimming in Cook Inlet, a glacier-fed saltwater channel running from Anchorage to the Gulf of Alaska, numbered as high as 1,300 three decades ago, but has dropped to about 375 since then, according to NOAA. Alaska's announcement it would challenge the endangered listing drew ire from environmental groups. "Once again Governor Palin has demonstrated either a complete lack of understanding or lack of concern over the plight of endangered species," Brendan Cummings, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement Wednesday... The state and several municipal governments and business groups argue that an endangered listing will hamper business in Alaska's most densely populated region... Governor Sarah Palin just announced she's making the state of Alaska sue to strike down Endangered Species Act protection for the imperiled Cook Inlet beluga whale. The rare white whale's population has already plummeted from thousands to just 375. They will certainly go extinct if Palin has her way. This isn't the first time Governor Palin has tried to sacrifice endangered species to the oil and gas industry. Last August, after a Center for Biological Diversity-led campaign won federal protection for the polar bear, she filed suit to strike the protections down in order to make things easier for Big Oil in the Arctic. The Center's lawyers and scientists are in court already to block Palin's anti-polar bear actions, and we'll soon jump in to save the beluga from her clutches as well. Please, click here to contribute to our legal defense fund: Apparently, it's not enough for Palin to promote the shooting of wolves from helicopters. Her bloodthirsty attitude towards wildlife extends to wiping out whole species that are barely surviving. She is going after endangered animals with missionary zeal, ignoring government scientists and running roughshod over the law. In the words of Brendan Cummings, the Center's master legal strategist on saving marine mammals: "Governor Palin must be suffering from an Ahab complex. She has an irrational obsession with driving the white whale extinct." I'll keep you posted on developments. In the meantime, we won't rest. We have to win this one for the belugas. With my thanks, Kieran Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity P.S. It's been a busy day for apocalyptic politicians?the Bush administration just announced it is again stripping Endangered Species Act protection from wolves in the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes in order to legalize their slaughter. We stopped Bush before by taking him to the courts, and we'll soon be filing suit over this decision too. I'll tell you more about it in tomorrow's email newsletter. somebody shoot Palin already for fucks sake Look at the flowers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
