Cooper Freeman
@cooperfreeman.bsky.social
Alaska director, Center for Biological Diversity. Working to protect Alaska and Arctic wildlands, oceans, and wildlife.
The Johnson Tract gold mine would devastate the only known winter feeding grounds for critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas, one of Alaska's great brown bear areas, the largest seabird nesting colony in Cook Inlet, and so much more.
But they have to go through us. NO gold mines.
bit.ly/3H7bQ9I
But they have to go through us. NO gold mines.
bit.ly/3H7bQ9I
Lawsuit challenges permit for mine site construction on west side of Alaska’s Cook Inlet | Alaska Beacon
The permit allowing a new road and an expanded airstrip fails to protect key habitat for endangered Cook Inlet belugas, the lawsuit says.
bit.ly
May 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The Johnson Tract gold mine would devastate the only known winter feeding grounds for critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas, one of Alaska's great brown bear areas, the largest seabird nesting colony in Cook Inlet, and so much more.
But they have to go through us. NO gold mines.
bit.ly/3H7bQ9I
But they have to go through us. NO gold mines.
bit.ly/3H7bQ9I
We filed a lawsuit against a major Alaskan gold mine exploration project to protect the critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas and defend against acid mine drainage into Lake Clark National Park, Alaska Maritime National Refuge, and critical habitat for the beluga whales.
bit.ly/3FkkMIo
bit.ly/3FkkMIo
Lawsuit Aims to Protect Cook Inlet, Belugas from Water Pollution, Noise
Center for Biological Diversity: Gold Mining Exploration Threatens Lake Clark National Park, Beluga Critical Habitat
bit.ly
May 21, 2025 at 5:08 PM
We filed a lawsuit against a major Alaskan gold mine exploration project to protect the critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas and defend against acid mine drainage into Lake Clark National Park, Alaska Maritime National Refuge, and critical habitat for the beluga whales.
bit.ly/3FkkMIo
bit.ly/3FkkMIo
Reposted by Cooper Freeman
Mining is an environmental and human rights nightmare. Battery recycling can ease that.
grist.org/energy/minin...
#EV #Batteries #Solar #Energy #Mining #Climate
grist.org/energy/minin...
#EV #Batteries #Solar #Energy #Mining #Climate
Mining is an environmental and human rights nightmare. Battery recycling can ease that.
Battery recycling provides economic, national security, and environmental benefits. But the United States is playing catch-up to Asian countries, particularly China.
grist.org
April 1, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Mining is an environmental and human rights nightmare. Battery recycling can ease that.
grist.org/energy/minin...
#EV #Batteries #Solar #Energy #Mining #Climate
grist.org/energy/minin...
#EV #Batteries #Solar #Energy #Mining #Climate
Reposted by Cooper Freeman
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s decision to kill almost 200 brown bears in order to boost a struggling caribou herd violated due process and was unconstitutional, an Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
(From @alaskabeacon.com)
(From @alaskabeacon.com)
Anchorage judge rules state’s brown-bear killings are unconstitutional
Alaska has killed more than 200 bears as part of its "intensive management" program intended to help a caribou herd.
www.ktoo.org
March 17, 2025 at 7:04 PM
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s decision to kill almost 200 brown bears in order to boost a struggling caribou herd violated due process and was unconstitutional, an Anchorage Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
(From @alaskabeacon.com)
(From @alaskabeacon.com)
Another desperate trip to Japan by AK state officials in search of the elusive investor for the $44 billion AK LNG pipeline that makes no financial or climate sense.
A wise state would take this money and invest in renewable energy and public education, but that is not what we have.
bit.ly/4hfkBLl
A wise state would take this money and invest in renewable energy and public education, but that is not what we have.
bit.ly/4hfkBLl
Alaskan officials to seek investors in Japan as Trump touts LNG
Alaskan state representatives will visit Japan this month to court investors for a natural gas project President Donald Trump says could pump trillions of dollars into the U.S., but Japanese energy firms remain sceptical of the project's feasibility.
bit.ly
March 17, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Another desperate trip to Japan by AK state officials in search of the elusive investor for the $44 billion AK LNG pipeline that makes no financial or climate sense.
A wise state would take this money and invest in renewable energy and public education, but that is not what we have.
bit.ly/4hfkBLl
A wise state would take this money and invest in renewable energy and public education, but that is not what we have.
bit.ly/4hfkBLl
Reposted by Cooper Freeman
Had this enforcement-refusal been in place during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon, BP would not have been forced to pay the $100 million in fines that it did to clean up the Gulf of Mexico and save birds.
March 12, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Had this enforcement-refusal been in place during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon, BP would not have been forced to pay the $100 million in fines that it did to clean up the Gulf of Mexico and save birds.
These kinds of local, artisanal businesses are the future of the Tongass, not going back to clearcutting old-growth trees for export. And they're mutually exclusive. The old-growth forests of the Tongass are the heart of the ecosystem and so important for mitigating climate change.
Wildfish Cannery on Prince of Wales Island is riding the wave of the rising U.S. market for tinned seafood, which has surged by billions of dollars as boutique branded cans of fish trend on TikTok.
(From KRBD-Ketchikan)
(From KRBD-Ketchikan)
A cannery in Southeast Alaska is at the forefront of America’s tinned fish renaissance
In recent years, the U.S. market for tinned seafood has surged by billions of dollars and boutique branded cans of fish are trending on TikTok. At the head of this swell is a small cannery on Prince…
www.ktoo.org
February 21, 2025 at 11:48 PM
These kinds of local, artisanal businesses are the future of the Tongass, not going back to clearcutting old-growth trees for export. And they're mutually exclusive. The old-growth forests of the Tongass are the heart of the ecosystem and so important for mitigating climate change.
Let's be clear, the Forest Service's Tongass Assessment is neither complete nor deep, and they have "studied" very little. It appears hastily thrown together with lots of outdated and incorrect info. It's far from an adequate scientific foundation for one of the planet's most important forests.
The last time the Forest Service studied the Tongass this deeply, the movie Titanic was hitting the screens. A few things have changed since then.
(From CoastAlaska)
(From CoastAlaska)
Forest Service seeks feedback on Tongass National Forest assessments
The last time the Forest Service studied the Tongass this deeply, the movie Titanic was hitting the screens.
www.ktoo.org
February 12, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Let's be clear, the Forest Service's Tongass Assessment is neither complete nor deep, and they have "studied" very little. It appears hastily thrown together with lots of outdated and incorrect info. It's far from an adequate scientific foundation for one of the planet's most important forests.
Gov. Dunleavy thinks Alaska's gas is "low carbon" 🤦
"...that gas has been recycled for almost 50 years on the North Slope. We know the content, we know the amount it's recycled back into the basin when that gas is then piped down through the pipeline — that carbon could be extracted from that gas."
"...that gas has been recycled for almost 50 years on the North Slope. We know the content, we know the amount it's recycled back into the basin when that gas is then piped down through the pipeline — that carbon could be extracted from that gas."
February 7, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Gov. Dunleavy thinks Alaska's gas is "low carbon" 🤦
"...that gas has been recycled for almost 50 years on the North Slope. We know the content, we know the amount it's recycled back into the basin when that gas is then piped down through the pipeline — that carbon could be extracted from that gas."
"...that gas has been recycled for almost 50 years on the North Slope. We know the content, we know the amount it's recycled back into the basin when that gas is then piped down through the pipeline — that carbon could be extracted from that gas."
NOAA Fisheries observers in Alaska face regular harassment; women twice as often as men.
This is unacceptable.
Importantly, we rely on these observers to document bycatch of imperiled marine mammals and fish.
Intimidation may not be unintentional.
This system is broken.
bit.ly/3CujVDL
This is unacceptable.
Importantly, we rely on these observers to document bycatch of imperiled marine mammals and fish.
Intimidation may not be unintentional.
This system is broken.
bit.ly/3CujVDL
E&E News: NOAA fisheries monitors face regular harassment in Alaska, study says
The agency study found women are harassed twice as often as men, while less than half of all incidents are reported.
bit.ly
February 6, 2025 at 10:24 PM
NOAA Fisheries observers in Alaska face regular harassment; women twice as often as men.
This is unacceptable.
Importantly, we rely on these observers to document bycatch of imperiled marine mammals and fish.
Intimidation may not be unintentional.
This system is broken.
bit.ly/3CujVDL
This is unacceptable.
Importantly, we rely on these observers to document bycatch of imperiled marine mammals and fish.
Intimidation may not be unintentional.
This system is broken.
bit.ly/3CujVDL
NOAA doing a job here trying to make its bottom trawl fisheries research look innocuous.
Rather, bottom trawl research, especially year after year in the same location, can cause real damage, downgrading ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/gallery/2024...
Rather, bottom trawl research, especially year after year in the same location, can cause real damage, downgrading ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/gallery/2024...
2024 Bottom Trawl Survey in Photos
Ever wonder what life is like when your office is a large floating marine laboratory? Our photo gallery highlights some of the incredible sights and scenes from the 2024 Bottom Trawl Survey season.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov
February 6, 2025 at 8:31 PM
NOAA doing a job here trying to make its bottom trawl fisheries research look innocuous.
Rather, bottom trawl research, especially year after year in the same location, can cause real damage, downgrading ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/gallery/2024...
Rather, bottom trawl research, especially year after year in the same location, can cause real damage, downgrading ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/gallery/2024...
The dissonance between the reality of this headline and Trump's Alaska Executive Order aspiring to declare open season on oil and gas development in the state makes my head explode.
www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
New Orleans has received twice as much snow as Anchorage this winter
Less than 4 inches of new snow has fallen in Anchorage since the beginning of December.
www.adn.com
January 23, 2025 at 12:43 AM
The dissonance between the reality of this headline and Trump's Alaska Executive Order aspiring to declare open season on oil and gas development in the state makes my head explode.
www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
Not at all unexpected, but still surreal to see. It's an order to bring about an all out plunder upon Alaska.
This is such a horrific vision for Alaska.
It could spell the end for Alaska's caribou, salmon, polar bears, walrus, and so much more.
We say NO.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
This is such a horrific vision for Alaska.
It could spell the end for Alaska's caribou, salmon, polar bears, walrus, and so much more.
We say NO.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
UNLEASHING ALASKA'S EXTRAORDINARY RESOURCE POTENTIAL – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.
www.whitehouse.gov
January 21, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Not at all unexpected, but still surreal to see. It's an order to bring about an all out plunder upon Alaska.
This is such a horrific vision for Alaska.
It could spell the end for Alaska's caribou, salmon, polar bears, walrus, and so much more.
We say NO.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
This is such a horrific vision for Alaska.
It could spell the end for Alaska's caribou, salmon, polar bears, walrus, and so much more.
We say NO.
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
So long (again) Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area (EO 13990), which among other important things, closed this critical marine region to the use of commercial trawl fishing gear that makes contact with the seafloor (i.e. "pelagic" pollock trawling and bottom trawling).
bit.ly/4anXFrm
bit.ly/4anXFrm
Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions – The White House
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as
bit.ly
January 21, 2025 at 12:36 AM
So long (again) Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area (EO 13990), which among other important things, closed this critical marine region to the use of commercial trawl fishing gear that makes contact with the seafloor (i.e. "pelagic" pollock trawling and bottom trawling).
bit.ly/4anXFrm
bit.ly/4anXFrm
We're hiring for an experienced attorney fired up to hold the line against the oncoming Trump onslaught up here in Alaska.
Come join our team or share with your friends!
biologicaldiversity.bamboohr.com/careers/111
Come join our team or share with your friends!
biologicaldiversity.bamboohr.com/careers/111
Staff or Senior Attorney
Salary Range: Staff Attorney: $69,000 - $85,000; Senior Attorney: $85,000 - $125,000
Location: This is a remote position. Applicants residing anywhere in Alaska strongly preferred and will be given p...
biologicaldiversity.bamboohr.com
January 16, 2025 at 7:13 PM
We're hiring for an experienced attorney fired up to hold the line against the oncoming Trump onslaught up here in Alaska.
Come join our team or share with your friends!
biologicaldiversity.bamboohr.com/careers/111
Come join our team or share with your friends!
biologicaldiversity.bamboohr.com/careers/111
While Northern fur seals moms struggle to rear and nurse strong young pups on St. Paul island, their main food source, Alaskan pollock, is over-harvested and being bought up by taxpayer dollars to bail out the industry. Its annual catch was raised for 2025.
alaskapublic.org/news/economy...
alaskapublic.org/news/economy...
USDA buys $50M worth of Alaska pollock
The recent buy is just the latest influx of cash to Alaska’s seafood industry from the federal government.
alaskapublic.org
January 14, 2025 at 4:46 AM
While Northern fur seals moms struggle to rear and nurse strong young pups on St. Paul island, their main food source, Alaskan pollock, is over-harvested and being bought up by taxpayer dollars to bail out the industry. Its annual catch was raised for 2025.
alaskapublic.org/news/economy...
alaskapublic.org/news/economy...
Reposted by Cooper Freeman
Updated 50-year change of annual temperature for the Alaska climate divisions, now for 1975-2024. Largest changes are in the North Slope and West Coast divisions and driven by, you guessed it, sea ice loss. Data from NOAA/NCEI. #akwx #Climate #ClimateChange @climatologist49.bsky.social
January 12, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Updated 50-year change of annual temperature for the Alaska climate divisions, now for 1975-2024. Largest changes are in the North Slope and West Coast divisions and driven by, you guessed it, sea ice loss. Data from NOAA/NCEI. #akwx #Climate #ClimateChange @climatologist49.bsky.social
Yesterday was a good day for the Arctic Refuge.
January 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Yesterday was a good day for the Arctic Refuge.
BREAKING: The Liberty Unit - the only offshore oil and gas leases fully in federal waters in the Arctic Ocean - is DEAD!
It'd be impossible to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean. The bowhead whales, polar bears, and ice seals can sleep a little easier tonight.
bit.ly/402Gffn
It'd be impossible to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean. The bowhead whales, polar bears, and ice seals can sleep a little easier tonight.
bit.ly/402Gffn
Arctic Win: Interior Department Denies Lease Extension for ‘Liberty’ Offshore Drilling Project in Alaska
Center for Biological Diversity: ANCHORAGE, Alaska— The Department of the Interior published a decision today denying an extension of offshore oil and gas leases for the Liberty Unit in the Beaufort S...
bit.ly
January 7, 2025 at 5:27 PM
BREAKING: The Liberty Unit - the only offshore oil and gas leases fully in federal waters in the Arctic Ocean - is DEAD!
It'd be impossible to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean. The bowhead whales, polar bears, and ice seals can sleep a little easier tonight.
bit.ly/402Gffn
It'd be impossible to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean. The bowhead whales, polar bears, and ice seals can sleep a little easier tonight.
bit.ly/402Gffn
"Astonishingly, the U.S. is the only Arctic coastal nation that still has no permanently protected Arctic Ocean waters. Russia, Canada, Norway and Greenland all have established permanent Arctic marine protected areas."
Important op-ed from my friend Rick Steiner.
thehill.com/opinion/5057...
Important op-ed from my friend Rick Steiner.
thehill.com/opinion/5057...
Biden’s missed chance to safeguard America’s oceans
President Biden has failed to protect America’s ocean ecosystems, despite his professed goal of protecting 30 percent of the nation’s oceans by 2030, due to his prioritization of local …
thehill.com
December 28, 2024 at 3:09 PM
"Astonishingly, the U.S. is the only Arctic coastal nation that still has no permanently protected Arctic Ocean waters. Russia, Canada, Norway and Greenland all have established permanent Arctic marine protected areas."
Important op-ed from my friend Rick Steiner.
thehill.com/opinion/5057...
Important op-ed from my friend Rick Steiner.
thehill.com/opinion/5057...
Reposted by Cooper Freeman
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game wants to kill up to 80% of wolves, brown bears, and black bears from roaring helicopters right on the borders of Denali and Lake Clark national parks.
We must urge Alaska to reject this proposal and take bears and wolves out of the crosshairs. Take action ⬇️
We must urge Alaska to reject this proposal and take bears and wolves out of the crosshairs. Take action ⬇️
Protect Bears and Wolves in Alaska
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is once again taking aim at wolves, brown bears, and black bears — right on the borders of Denali and Lake Clark national parks. Tell Alaska take bears and wolve...
act.biologicaldiversity.org
December 20, 2024 at 5:43 PM
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game wants to kill up to 80% of wolves, brown bears, and black bears from roaring helicopters right on the borders of Denali and Lake Clark national parks.
We must urge Alaska to reject this proposal and take bears and wolves out of the crosshairs. Take action ⬇️
We must urge Alaska to reject this proposal and take bears and wolves out of the crosshairs. Take action ⬇️
Reposted by Cooper Freeman
One of my favorite solar energy statistics is that during the ENTIRE month of December, Fairbanks receives the same solar energy as Tucson, AZ, does by 8:30 a.m. on Dec 1st. (Computed using USCRN solar data from NCEI.) @alaskawx.bsky.social
December 7, 2024 at 4:38 AM
One of my favorite solar energy statistics is that during the ENTIRE month of December, Fairbanks receives the same solar energy as Tucson, AZ, does by 8:30 a.m. on Dec 1st. (Computed using USCRN solar data from NCEI.) @alaskawx.bsky.social
The desperation by the Dunleavy administration and his cronies to keep the impossible dream of an Alaska LNG pipeline alive is staggering.
They're fossil fuel addicts, plain and simple, be damned the financial and ecological consequences to Alaska.
bit.ly/4g08HW1
They're fossil fuel addicts, plain and simple, be damned the financial and ecological consequences to Alaska.
bit.ly/4g08HW1
Alaska development agency moves to provide $50M commitment to LNG project
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority’s commitment could allow a pipeline developer to complete up to $50 million in engineering studies in hopes that an initial in-state gas line is ...
bit.ly
December 6, 2024 at 5:33 PM
The desperation by the Dunleavy administration and his cronies to keep the impossible dream of an Alaska LNG pipeline alive is staggering.
They're fossil fuel addicts, plain and simple, be damned the financial and ecological consequences to Alaska.
bit.ly/4g08HW1
They're fossil fuel addicts, plain and simple, be damned the financial and ecological consequences to Alaska.
bit.ly/4g08HW1