Scientists estimate there are less than 350 Cook Inlet beluga whales left in the wild. This distinct population segment was listed as endangered in October 2008.
After a year and half of public hearings, lawsuits and over 135,000 comments, NMFS has designated 3,013 square miles of marine habitat in Alaska’s Cook Inlet as critical to the survival of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. This critical habitat comprises marine and estuarine environments considered by scientists to be essential for the whales’ survival. These areas contain important biological and physical features for these cetaceans, such as feeding areas near the mouths of salmon streams. Not all of the current range of these whales was found to be critical.
The designation was made in the face of the state of Alaska’s challenge to the US Endangered Species Act listing status of the beluga, and specifically excludes the rapidly expanding Port of Anchorage and most military land, "in consideration" of national security.
The critical habitat designation, required under the Endangered Species Act, only affects activities that involve a federal permit, license or funding and which may affect critical habitat, such as construction and operation of oil rigs, port construction, dredging, or Environmental Protection Agency-authorized discharges into Cook Inlet.
The final rule is effective from May 11, 2011. The final rule, maps, status reviews, and other materials supporting this final rule can be found here.