The importance of the Alaska Beluga Monitoring Program is highlighted in the Cook Inlet Beluga 5-Year Review, Species in the Spotlight: Priority Actions 2021-2025, Cook Inlet Beluga Whale, and Recovering Threatened and Endangered Species Report to Congress (FY 2019-2020 and FY 2020-2021).
How is AKBMP data used?
The data collected by AKBMP informs the conservation, management, and ongoing research related to endangered Cook Inlet belugas.
Federal Management Use
Under Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), federal agencies must consult with NOAA Fisheries or US Fish & Wildlife Service (species dependent) when any activity or project may affect an ESA-listed species or designated critical habitat. These interagency consultations are designed to assist Federal agencies in fulfilling their duty to ensure any action they authorize, fund, or carry out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat (NOAA Fisheries). Agencies use scientific data to fulfill these requirements during the permitting process.
AKBMP data has been used by NOAA Fisheries in their Section 7 consultations. The data helps inform times of Cook Inlet beluga presence and absence to assist in determining mitigations to reduce the impacts of a project near some of our monitoring sites.
List of completed Section 7 consultations that have utilized AKBMP data:
| Title | Completion Year |
|---|---|
| Port of Alaska North Floating Dock | 2026 |
| Seward Highway Milepost 90 to 99 Project | 2026 |
| Knik Arm Fender Pile Project | 2026 |
| Hilcorp Incidental Take Regulations for Cook Inlet | 2025 |
| Arctic Edge 25 – Cook Inlet | 2025 |
| Port MacKenzie Barge Haulout Ramp | 2025 |
| Port of Alaska Modernization Program Supplemental Maintenance Dredging | 2025 |
| Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) Bridge 114.3 Replacement Project, Anchorage, Alaska | 2024 |
| Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) | 2024 |
| Hilcorp Cook Inlet Tugs Towing and Jack-up Rigs, Cook Inlet, Alaska | 2024 |
| United States Army Corps of Engineers Furie Cook Inlet Towing and Drilling, Cook Inlet, Alaska | 2024 |
| Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Salmon Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska | 2024 |
| Port of Alaska North Extension Stabilization (NES) Project | 2023 |
| Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Lease Sale 258, Cook Inlet, Alaska | 2023 |
| Hilcorp Cook Inlet Tugs Towing a Jack-up Rig | 2022 |
| Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Salmon Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Off Alaska (Salmon FMP) | 2021 |
| Port of Alaska’s South Floating Dock, Anchorage, Alaska | 2021 |
| Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project | 2020 |
| Port of Alaska’s Petroleum and Cement Terminal, Anchorage, Alaska | 2020 |
| Kenai River Bluff Stabilization | 2019 |
| Mixing Zone Regulation Section of the State of Alaska’s Water Quality Standards (Reinitiation) | 2019 |
Technical Reports/ Publications
Kumar, S., Castellote, M., Gill, V., Cunningham, C., Konar, B., & Horstmann, L. (2026). Anthropogenic activity and Cook Inlet beluga whale presence in two Alaska rivers. Endangered Species Research.
Kumar, S. V., Castellote, M., & Gill, V. A. (2024). THE URBAN BELUGA: ACOUSTIC MONITORING IN THE KENAI AND KASILOF RIVERS, ALASKA. Anchorage: US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. 64p. Report No.: OCS Study BOEM 2024-002. Contract, (M20PG00005).
Presentations
M. Trifari, V. Gill, J. Seymour, M. Kosma, R. Davey. 2026. Citizen science is filling data gaps for Cook Inlet belugas near downtown Anchorage, Alaska. 2026 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage AK.
J. Schroeder, S. Chalmers, A. Gibson, T. Becher, S. Wilhelm, D. Boege Tobin, M. Webber. 2025. Observance of Cook Inlet Belugas in Kenai River. 2025 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage AK.
Gill, V.A., K. Ovitz, M. Kosma, S. Steinert, J. Christopherson, and A. Gardell. 2020. The Alaska Beluga Monitoring Partnership: A collaborative citizen science monitoring effort exploring endangered beluga habitat use at multiple sites in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. 2020 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK.
Alaska Beluga monitoring program REPORTS
Seasonal visual summaries:
Yearly:
Multi-seasonal reports: