Belugas and the Endangered Species Act

NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) listed the Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act earlier this month.

NOAA has been monitoring the status of the beluga whale for quite some time. A "Status Review and Extinction Assessment of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales" was reported in 2006 and again in 2008. You can also take a look at NOAA's "Aerial Surveys of Belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska, June 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004."

Cook Inlet belugas have also been studied by the Minerals Management Service. Some examples of their studies include "Persistent Chlorinated Compounds and Elements in Tissues of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales, Delphinapterus leucas" (2000) and "Distribution of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Winter" (1999).

The Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species Program experienced some bad press in 2007 when an investigation found misconduct on behalf of the deputy assistant secretary involving manipulation of reports used to make decisions on endangered species.

The Bush administration has recently announced its desire to make some modifications to the Endangered Species Act (among other proposed regulatory changes). California Attorney Jerry Brown has submitted a public comment opposing the proposed modifications. If you're interested in commenting on these (or any) proposed regulations, you can make comments and get current information at Regulations.gov.