Cook Inletkeeper

The group has previously worked with similar environmental advocacy groups on litigation and lawsuits such as Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. It has also received funding from several left-of-center organizations and foundations including the New Venture Fund, World Wildlife Fund, and the True North Foundation. ^{2 3 4 5}

Background

Cook Inletkeeper was founded in 1995 following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill near Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The group initially focused on preventing similar incidents and protecting water quality within the Cook Inlet watershed. ^{6 7} The group established a water-quality laboratory in Homer, Alaska and later began long-term scientific monitoring programs that later supported its advocacy campaigns. By the early 2000s, it had expanded its efforts into litigation and regulatory intervention against traditional energy industries. ^{8 9 4 6}

Activities

In July 2024, a federal court overturned the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of “oil and gas” Lease Sale 258 to purchase land within the Alaskan Cook Inlet after litigation brought by Cook Inletkeeper and several groups argued that the environmental impact statement provided by the U.S Department of Interior “failed to fully consider the lease sale’s cumulative impacts on beluga whales, as well as the issue of blaring vessel noise.” ¹⁰ In February 2026, the group joined a notice-of-intent-to-sue against a planned March 2026 offshore lease sale, represented by Earthjustice alongside the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Co-executive director Loren Barrett called the sale “reckless” and claimed it threatened beluga whales and other protected species. ^{3 11}

In June 2025, Cook Inletkeeper joined a lawsuit challenging an Army Corps of Engineers permit for construction at the proposed Johnson Tract gold mine on the west side of Cook Inlet. Plaintiffs alleged the Corps failed to analyze potential acid-mine drainage and impacts on Tuxedni Bay beluga habitat. The group has also intervened in proceedings concerning the Alaska LNG project and has advocated for state legislation that would impose new fees on oil production to fund a “climate emergency response fund.” ^{5 5 4}

Funding

Cook Inletkeeper has previously received funding from nonprofit groups and foundations including the Homer Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, New Venture Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Waterkeeper Alliance, Harder Foundation, and the True North Foundation. ²