Palin opposed to beluga whale listing

Gov. Sarah Palin said listing the Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered would cause serious long-term damage to the area’s economy.

Palin submitted her comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service Aug. 3, the last day of the public comment period. The letter was released by her office Aug. 7.

In it, Palin told the federal government the whales’ population has increased slightly in recent years, that the state the already is doing everything it can to protect them, and the whales don’t need the listing.

Instead, she asked that the National Marine Fisheries Service work with state and other scientists to finalize and implement a conservation plan for the Cook Inlet beluga whales. The government has until April 2008 to decide whether to move forward with the listing.

The Natural Resources Defense Council says that in the past two months, more than 100,000 Americans have called for the whales to be listed as endangered.

Only 300 of the white whales remain in Cook Inlet.

—The Associated Press