Beluga habitat comments are in

According to a long article from the Peninsula Clarion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries' proposal to designate 3,000 square miles of Cook Inlet (the entire upper inlet and a three-mile wide strip along the western shore, as well as Kachemak Bay) as critical habitat for what studies have determined is a distinct population of beluga whales attracted 91,000 comments (about 80,000 of them form letters) before the window for them closed last month. Disagreement still rages about the designation, with the largest group of opponents saying it will effectively ruin chances for development in the area. The whales were placed on the federal endangered species list in 2008, and proponents of the habitat designation say the animals face extinction if nothing is done to increase their numbers. Read much, much more, here.