Comments on: The State of Alaska’s War on Whales Continues. Endangered Belugas, Meet the GOP. http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/ Tiptoeing Through the Muck of Alaskan Politics Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:08:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: benlomond2 http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159416 benlomond2 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:33:07 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159416 chuckle....so the cruise ships get nailed for discharging in the water, but the "Real Americans" of Alaska get to dump their shit in the water ??? Guess it's to be expected when the former head of the state doesn't mind living on a dead lake...... chuckle….so the cruise ships get nailed for discharging in the water, but the “Real Americans” of Alaska get to dump their shit in the water ??? Guess it’s to be expected when the former head of the state doesn’t mind living on a dead lake……

]]> By: anadventurer http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159354 anadventurer Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:10:38 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159354 All I knows is that I miss seeing Beluga chasing the salmon. I once had Beluga at my feet at Bird Point during the salmon run, they were chasing the salmon in to the crevasses in the rocks and I has just siting there watching them at the water line. The Beluga would pop up or roll over and look at me watching them. I miss seeing them like that. For 12 years, I have tried to recreate that experience (with a camera this time) and nothing, I can't even remember when I saw the beluga running up that way, there is plenty of salmon, that's not the problem. All I knows is that I miss seeing Beluga chasing the salmon.

I once had Beluga at my feet at Bird Point during the salmon run, they were chasing the salmon in to the crevasses in the rocks and I has just siting there watching them at the water line. The Beluga would pop up or roll over and look at me watching them.

I miss seeing them like that. For 12 years, I have tried to recreate that experience (with a camera this time) and nothing, I can’t even remember when I saw the beluga running up that way, there is plenty of salmon, that’s not the problem.

]]> By: sauerkraut http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159300 sauerkraut Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:55:30 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159300 Yon Dung and his right honorable mayah appear to be part of the group which has attempted end-arounding federal wastewater regulations for at least the past decade-and-a-half by having the states do the regulating of municipal wastewater treatment and enforcement. All for profit of their buddies. http://reason.org/news/show/municipal-wastewater-treatment Yon Dung and his right honorable mayah appear to be part of the group which has attempted end-arounding federal wastewater regulations for at least the past decade-and-a-half by having the states do the regulating of municipal wastewater treatment and enforcement. All for profit of their buddies.

http://reason.org/news/show/municipal-wastewater-treatment

]]> By: sauerkraut http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159295 sauerkraut Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:38:46 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159295 Sooooo... lemme see if I read this correctly... the right honorable mayah of Anchorage wants laws addressing the discharge of raw sewage into a body of water to be dumped? Is he intending to do a polar bear jump into waters downstream of the discharge pipe come New Year's Day? If he's willing to do that, and survive the experience, then I say let him go for it. Sooooo… lemme see if I read this correctly… the right honorable mayah of Anchorage wants laws addressing the discharge of raw sewage into a body of water to be dumped?

Is he intending to do a polar bear jump into waters downstream of the discharge pipe come New Year’s Day? If he’s willing to do that, and survive the experience, then I say let him go for it.

]]> By: Alaska Pi http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159279 Alaska Pi Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:09:01 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159279 I don't know why Rep Young and Mayor Sullivan's behavior here astonishes me... but it does. The Dispatch reports the Rep said "Don't take the word of the federal government, that's the worst thing you can do" as regards this situation. Oh, right. Let's take the word of the head-in-the-mud gang...mmm, hmmm. These two are the epitome of a mindset which extols the wonders of Alaska while pulling the plug on those same wonders. It's not like the NMFS is a wild eyed radical environmentalist group. Matter of fact, they move almost too slowly, with all their dadgum fact checking and so on , to make their decisions and recommendations. Anchorage NEEDS to clean up it's act on sewage Mayor Sullivan! I didn't know until recently that there was no tertiary treatment of our largest city's sewage.Take all your waivers and so on and stuff em! Get off your buns and find the money to put folks to work cleaning up your own turf! I'm close to hyperventilating here. Rep Young is sorry proof dinosaurs can and do co-exist with humans and Mayor Sullivan has uncorrected vision problems as regards the landscape around him... It's the WORK of the dang city to meet the changes and challenges presented to it. I'm suggesting Lynnrockets borrow from Mr Dylan and take a run at "the times, they are a changin..." come Mayor S and congressmen please heed the call don't stand in the doorway don't block up the hall... And I'm going somewhere for a bit to cool off... Village Reader- Someday we'll figure out how to get our families to quit voting for "friends " and to start voting for advocates... We will. I don’t know why Rep Young and Mayor Sullivan’s behavior here astonishes me… but it does.
The Dispatch reports the Rep said “Don’t take the word of the federal government, that’s the worst thing you can do” as regards this situation.
Oh, right. Let’s take the word of the head-in-the-mud gang…mmm, hmmm.
These two are the epitome of a mindset which extols the wonders of Alaska while pulling the plug on those same wonders.
It’s not like the NMFS is a wild eyed radical environmentalist group. Matter of fact, they move almost too slowly, with all their dadgum fact checking and so on , to make their decisions and recommendations.

Anchorage NEEDS to clean up it’s act on sewage Mayor Sullivan! I didn’t know until recently that there was no tertiary treatment of our largest city’s sewage.Take all your waivers and so on and stuff em!
Get off your buns and find the money to put folks to work cleaning up your own turf!
I’m close to hyperventilating here. Rep Young is sorry proof dinosaurs can and do co-exist with humans and Mayor Sullivan has uncorrected vision problems as regards the landscape around him… It’s the WORK of the dang city to meet the changes and challenges presented to it.

I’m suggesting Lynnrockets borrow from Mr Dylan and take a run at “the times, they are a changin…”
come Mayor S and congressmen
please heed the call
don’t stand in the doorway
don’t block up the hall…

And I’m going somewhere for a bit to cool off…

Village Reader-
Someday we’ll figure out how to get our families to quit voting for “friends ” and to start voting for advocates…
We will.

]]> By: NEO http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159265 NEO Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:10:11 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159265 AKM -thank you for calling attention to this topic. When I think of the assault on wildlife in Alaska it makes me sad. Whales, salmon, polar bears,wolves, the list goes on and on. Humans never seem to get their act together until a crisis. It is $$$$$$$$ over science, denial over action. Then when the tipping point happens, we become less than we are now and earth becomes less wondrous and beautiful. Back to the whales- to bad Anchorage can't clean up it's sh*t. The sewage problem should be addressed. We should do everything in our power to keep Cook Inlet waters clean. AKM -thank you for calling attention to this topic.
When I think of the assault on wildlife in Alaska it makes me sad.
Whales, salmon, polar bears,wolves, the list goes on and on.
Humans never seem to get their act together until a crisis.
It is $$$$$$$$ over science, denial over action.
Then when the tipping point happens, we become less than
we are now and earth becomes less wondrous and beautiful.

Back to the whales- to bad Anchorage can’t clean up it’s sh*t.
The sewage problem should be addressed. We should do everything in our power to keep Cook Inlet waters clean.

]]> By: Stephen F Stringham, PhD http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159264 Stephen F Stringham, PhD Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:00:46 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159264 Instead of fighting the listing of Belugas, Anchorage should be applying for Stimulus grants to install full tertiary treatment of its sewage and stormwater run off. The issue is not, of course, that Cook Inlet belugas are a different species; (they are merely a different subspecies). Rather, the issue is what role they play in the ecology of Cook Inlet and surround waters, and what impacts result from the serious decline in their abundance. We are not just trying to save a remnant population, but one that fulfills its eco-roles. Perhaps, as some people believe, belugas are simply top predators that skim the cream of fish off the top of the food chain, and do nothing beneficial. However, the same thing was long said about sea otters. Turns out that sea otters are a keystone species. Their near elimination from California and Oregon had a huge adverse impact on commercial fisheries. So, although otters reduce the abundance of abalone and some other shell fish and impact these fisheries, the otters strongly benefit some commercially important fish. The same thing could well be true of belugas. This does need to be studied, among many other issues. The sooner, the better. Stephen F. Stringham, PhD President, WildWatch Instead of fighting the listing of Belugas, Anchorage should be applying for Stimulus grants to install full tertiary treatment of its sewage and stormwater run off.

The issue is not, of course, that Cook Inlet belugas are a different species; (they are merely a different subspecies). Rather, the issue is what role they play in the ecology of Cook Inlet and surround waters, and what impacts result from the serious decline in their abundance. We are not just trying to save a remnant population, but one that fulfills its eco-roles. Perhaps, as some people believe, belugas are simply top predators that skim the cream of fish off the top of the food chain, and do nothing beneficial.

However, the same thing was long said about sea otters. Turns out that sea otters are a keystone species. Their near elimination from California and Oregon had a huge adverse impact on commercial fisheries. So, although otters reduce the abundance of abalone and some other shell fish and impact these fisheries, the otters strongly benefit some commercially important fish.

The same thing could well be true of belugas. This does need to be studied, among many other issues. The sooner, the better.

Stephen F. Stringham, PhD
President, WildWatch

]]> By: AKjah http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159263 AKjah Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:45:33 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159263 Don is going the way of the beluga. I was going to make a plea for the future,but i realised that don Young is stuck with what he has wrath. That man stands alone. Don is going the way of the beluga. I was going to make a plea for the future,but i realised that don Young is stuck with what he has wrath. That man stands alone.

]]> By: Inletkeeper http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159260 Inletkeeper Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:59:42 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159260 Don Young and Dan Sullivan sat on their hands for the past decade and now they're in reaction mode because the corporations are crying the sky is falling. In fact, industry did nothing for years, and only started funding beluga photo ID studies when they say things were getting dire (and they also thought their studies would paint a different story than NMFS story, but instead they confirm NMFS's work). Studies of tens of thousands of projects in critical habitat for endangered species shows less than 1% get derailed, and that's how the law should work - if the project is ill-planned and cannot mitigate harm, then it should not move forward. The vast majority, however, can and do move forward. Young refers to "false science" - because the facts don't comport with his world view. This is the war on science, and Sarah's a leading proponent. Don Young and Dan Sullivan sat on their hands for the past decade and now they’re in reaction mode because the corporations are crying the sky is falling. In fact, industry did nothing for years, and only started funding beluga photo ID studies when they say things were getting dire (and they also thought their studies would paint a different story than NMFS story, but instead they confirm NMFS’s work).

Studies of tens of thousands of projects in critical habitat for endangered species shows less than 1% get derailed, and that’s how the law should work – if the project is ill-planned and cannot mitigate harm, then it should not move forward. The vast majority, however, can and do move forward.

Young refers to “false science” – because the facts don’t comport with his world view. This is the war on science, and Sarah’s a leading proponent.

]]> By: nswfm http://www.themudflats.net/2009/12/23/the-state-of-alaskas-war-on-whales-continues-endangered-belugas-meet-the-gop/#comment-159256 nswfm Thu, 24 Dec 2009 04:54:15 +0000 http://www.themudflats.net/?p=9034#comment-159256 Chico State is known as a party school. He might have killed all his brain cells. Chico State is known as a party school. He might have killed all his brain cells.

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