Editing Cook Inlet (section)

==Conservation==
[[File:CookInlet.jpg|thumb|right|View across Cook Inlet at low tide from downtown [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]], [[Alaska]] (September 2005)]]

The Cook Inlet [[beluga whale]] is a genetically distinct and geographically isolated stock.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga/management.htm|title=Management and Recovery of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales |publisher=NOAA Fisheries |access-date=2007-02-03}}</ref> The population fell to 278 in 2005 and it is listed as [[critically endangered]] in the [[IUCN Red List]] of Threatened Species.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Lowry, L. |author2=O’Corry-Crowe, G. |author3=Goodman, D. |year=2012 |title=''Delphinapterus leucas'' (Cook Inlet subpopulation) |volume=2012 |page=e.T61442A17691385 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T61442A17691385.en |access-date=28 October 2018}}</ref> This was perhaps due to local hunt, although an article in the ''[[Anchorage Daily News]]'' questioned this conclusion.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040216075135/http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/Stock_Assessment_Program/Cetaceans/Beluga_Whale_(Cook_Inlet)/AK02belugawhale_cookinlet.pdf Nmfs.Noaa.gov]</ref> [[Killer whale]]s commonly feed on belugas in the Cook Inlet, driving them to the upper part of the inlet where they often seek refuge in the shallower waters of the arms.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227512576_Killer_Whale_Predation_on_Belugas_in_Cook_Inlet_Alaska_Implications_for_a_Depleted_Population |title=Killer Whale Predation on Belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska: Implications for a Depleted Population |journal=Marine Mammal Science |volume=19 |issue=3 |date=July 2003 |last1=Shelden |first1=Kim E. W. |last2=Rugh |first2=David J. |last3=Mahoney |first3=Barbara A. |last4=Dahlheim |first4=Marilyn E. |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2003.tb01319.x |pages=529–544}}</ref>

In 2000, the US [[National Marine Fisheries Service]] listed the Cook Inlet beluga whale population as depleted and began development of a conservation plan. On October 22, 2008 the Cook Inlet beluga whale was put onto the endangered species list.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/beluga-whale |title=Beluga Whale |publisher=NOAA Fisheries |access-date=January 24, 2024}}</ref> Cook Inlet activities include commercial fishing, oil and gas development, [[Effluent|release of treated sewage]], noise from aircraft and ships, shipping traffic, and tourism. However, it is not known what impact these activities had on the beluga whale population.

The Coastal Marine Institute at the [[University of Alaska Fairbanks]]'s School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences working with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), began a three-year project in 2003 focusing on the water circulation in Cook Inlet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ims.uaf.edu/research/johnson/cmi/index.html |title=Water and Ice Dynamics in Cook Inlet, Alaska |last1=Johnson |first1=Mark |last2=Okkonen |first2=Steve |last3=Proshutinsky |first3=Andrey |last4=Proshutinsky |first4=Tatania |publisher=Institute of Marine Science |access-date=2007-02-03}}</ref>

[[Cook Inletkeeper]], a member of the [[Waterkeeper Alliance]], began in 1994 when a group of Alaskans became concerned about the rapid ecological changes in the inlet. The group formally incorporated the following year using settlement proceeds from a Clean Water Act lawsuit against Cook Inlet oil and gas producers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://inletkeeper.org/about/history/|title=Cook Inletkeeper - History|date=24 March 2017 |publisher= Cook Inletkeeper|access-date=2018-07-30}}</ref> Their stated mission is to "protect Alaska's Cook Inlet watershed and the life it sustains," with a focus on clean water, healthy habitat, local economies, and energy. They are based in [[Homer, Alaska|Homer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://inletkeeper.org/our-work/|title=Cook Inletkeeper - Our Work|date=22 March 2017|publisher= Cook Inletkeeper|access-date=2018-07-30}}</ref>