Cook Inlet Offshore Oil Drilling: Why Alaskans Are Questioning Another Generation of Fossil Fuels

1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,100
What if the next US offshore oil and gas
lease isn't happening in some distant

2
00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:10,380
Ocean you've never heard of, but in waters
that feed families support salmon runs

3
00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,670
and are home to one of the most endangered
whale populations in North America.

4
00:00:15,165 --> 00:00:18,255
Today's conversation takes
us to Cook Inlet Alaska.

5
00:00:18,315 --> 00:00:23,295
Where decisions being made right now could
lock communities into another generation

6
00:00:23,295 --> 00:00:27,825
of fossil fuel dependence, or finally
open the door to a different future.

7
00:00:28,215 --> 00:00:30,495
We're gonna talk about this
on this episode of the How

8
00:00:30,495 --> 00:00:31,725
to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

9
00:00:32,085 --> 00:00:32,835
Let's start the show.

10
00:00:33,975 --> 00:00:34,455
Hey everybody.

11
00:00:34,460 --> 00:00:37,755
Welcome back to another exciting episode
of the How to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

12
00:00:37,755 --> 00:00:41,265
I'm your host, Andrew Lewin, Marine
biologist and science communicator

13
00:00:41,265 --> 00:00:44,445
here to tell you what's happening in
the Ocean, how you can speak up for

14
00:00:44,445 --> 00:00:48,465
the Ocean, and what you can do to live
for a better Ocean by taking action.

15
00:00:48,675 --> 00:00:53,415
And this is another interview in a series
of interviews that I've done for the us.

16
00:00:53,614 --> 00:00:57,964
Oil and gas lease plan, a five year
lease plan that was put out just before

17
00:00:57,964 --> 00:01:01,235
the holiday season so that a lot of
people couldn't publicly comment.

18
00:01:01,294 --> 00:01:03,965
The public comment period is
still open till January 23rd.

19
00:01:04,144 --> 00:01:07,475
This is gonna be released sort of
on the Monday before that, And so

20
00:01:07,475 --> 00:01:11,740
I want you to get an idea of how
people in Cook Inland and in Alaska.

21
00:01:12,180 --> 00:01:16,020
Feel about this oil lease plan
and what you're gonna find

22
00:01:16,020 --> 00:01:18,210
out is very, very surprising.

23
00:01:18,210 --> 00:01:21,990
'cause we have Jamie Curry, who's
the communications director of Cook

24
00:01:21,990 --> 00:01:26,250
Inlet Keeper, and we have Lauren
Barrett, who's the co-executive

25
00:01:26,250 --> 00:01:27,870
director of the Inlet Keeper.

26
00:01:27,930 --> 00:01:31,650
They're part of an organization that
has spent decades defending Cook Island

27
00:01:31,650 --> 00:01:36,930
watershed from pollution, climate impacts,
and unchecked industrial expansion.

28
00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:41,940
So in this conversation, we unpack the
US offshore oil and gas leasing plan, the

29
00:01:41,940 --> 00:01:46,470
five year plan, and what that actually
means for Alaskans who live, who fish

30
00:01:46,530 --> 00:01:49,080
and race families along these waters.

31
00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:54,180
We talk about how the oil and gas industry
has shaped Alaska's economy, politics,

32
00:01:54,180 --> 00:01:58,860
and public expectations in the past,
and why that history still influences

33
00:01:58,860 --> 00:02:00,990
how people feel about drilling today.

34
00:02:01,410 --> 00:02:05,310
So most importantly, we explore
a question that often gets lost

35
00:02:05,310 --> 00:02:07,110
in the national energy debates.

36
00:02:07,260 --> 00:02:09,905
Do the people most affected
buy offshore drilling?

37
00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:13,170
Actually support expanding
it into the future.

38
00:02:13,290 --> 00:02:16,649
And are they asking for
something different altogether?

39
00:02:16,859 --> 00:02:20,190
This episode is about power, it's
about legacy, and who gets to

40
00:02:20,190 --> 00:02:22,350
decide the future of Alaska's Ocean.

41
00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,660
And I want to reiterate the importance
of what this is going to mean

42
00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,720
for coastal people across the us.

43
00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:34,019
Not just Cook Inlet, but even
just specifically for Cook Inlet.

44
00:02:34,019 --> 00:02:36,359
'cause there's a website that they
have up, and I'm gonna link to it.

45
00:02:36,570 --> 00:02:39,390
Speak up for blue.com/inlet.

46
00:02:39,390 --> 00:02:40,620
Keep it's in the show notes.

47
00:02:40,739 --> 00:02:42,060
It's very important that you go see this.

48
00:02:42,089 --> 00:02:45,899
There is an image in the timeline that
they talk about what's been happening.

49
00:02:46,019 --> 00:02:46,799
That is so.

50
00:02:47,420 --> 00:02:52,760
Impactful to me because it looks
at how the leases are going to be

51
00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,260
expanded or are going to be put and
where they're located in Cook Inland.

52
00:02:57,470 --> 00:03:00,230
And if you haven't seen like what this
looks like, it's basically it's got a

53
00:03:00,230 --> 00:03:04,580
mouth to the Ocean And then it's got this
sort of like track that goes into as an

54
00:03:04,580 --> 00:03:07,670
inland, basically there's land on one
side and land on the other side, like

55
00:03:07,670 --> 00:03:09,350
the major mainland on the other side.

56
00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,360
And it goes all the way
in quite a distance.

57
00:03:11,390 --> 00:03:13,550
A number of kilometers in where they want.

58
00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:18,290
These leases are right in the
mouth of the inlet where people

59
00:03:18,290 --> 00:03:21,950
live like Homer, where is home of
the headquarters of Inlet Keeper.

60
00:03:22,100 --> 00:03:23,390
They actually live there.

61
00:03:23,390 --> 00:03:26,090
So what they're gonna see right now,
what they see without these leasing

62
00:03:26,090 --> 00:03:27,410
plans are without these platforms.

63
00:03:27,470 --> 00:03:30,830
They look out their windows and they
see beautiful like mountains and

64
00:03:30,830 --> 00:03:34,340
volcanoes and a beautiful skyline
with the Ocean in front of it.

65
00:03:34,340 --> 00:03:38,450
And they just see beauty wildlife
as you've never seen before.

66
00:03:38,450 --> 00:03:40,580
They get to see it each and every day.

67
00:03:40,670 --> 00:03:44,360
It's why people who visit just
like Lauren Barrett did, and

68
00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:45,530
just like Jamie Curry did.

69
00:03:45,850 --> 00:03:48,430
Why they visit and why
they love it so much.

70
00:03:48,430 --> 00:03:51,910
Why they actually moved there and stayed
there and are raising their kids there.

71
00:03:52,150 --> 00:03:56,650
That's how important it's, and what
this plan wants to do is lease out

72
00:03:56,650 --> 00:04:01,240
areas where oil platforms will take away
that view will take away that skyline

73
00:04:01,300 --> 00:04:04,360
will impact the environment to no end.

74
00:04:04,420 --> 00:04:08,080
If there is an oil spill and there
will be an oil spill, I want you to

75
00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,640
listen to this interview because it's
really important and how the oil and

76
00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:16,570
gas industry is not really benefiting
the local community of Cook Inlet.

77
00:04:16,840 --> 00:04:18,010
That's really, it really comes down to.

78
00:04:18,010 --> 00:04:21,160
So here's the interview with
Lauren Barrett and Jamie Curry

79
00:04:21,190 --> 00:04:23,290
from Inlet Keeper on Cook Inlet.

80
00:04:23,350 --> 00:04:25,150
Enjoy the interview and
we'll talk to you after.

81
00:04:25,330 --> 00:04:26,050
Hey Lauren.

82
00:04:26,050 --> 00:04:26,800
Hey Jamie.

83
00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,230
Welcome to the How to
Protect the Ocean Podcast.

84
00:04:29,230 --> 00:04:32,680
Are you ready to talk about
Alaska's nature as well as the

85
00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,820
US oil and gas leasing plan that
just came out about a month ago?

86
00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:37,780
Oh yeah.

87
00:04:37,780 --> 00:04:38,595
Very excited to be here.

88
00:04:39,659 --> 00:04:39,810
Right.

89
00:04:40,830 --> 00:04:41,250
All definitely.

90
00:04:41,310 --> 00:04:42,120
This is gonna be fun.

91
00:04:42,180 --> 00:04:47,159
I am super excited because this is, uh,
sort of the, not necessarily the last

92
00:04:47,159 --> 00:04:52,409
episode, but the last interview I'm doing,
uh, before the public comment, uh, kind

93
00:04:52,409 --> 00:04:58,349
of shuts down for this US oil and gas
leasing plan, uh, across the US where

94
00:04:58,349 --> 00:05:02,280
we're looking at, you know, one point,
I believe it's 1.4 billion acres that

95
00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:06,120
it is pretty much opened up for leasing
and the public common period is here.

96
00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,510
So we're, we're trying to do for
this audience is to give you as much

97
00:05:09,510 --> 00:05:13,710
information as possible from different
parts of the US that may or may not be

98
00:05:13,710 --> 00:05:18,179
affected by this leasing plan and sort
of the history that they've had with

99
00:05:18,179 --> 00:05:19,534
the oil and gas industry, and also just.

100
00:05:20,060 --> 00:05:21,530
Talking about the nature,
'cause I'm excited.

101
00:05:21,530 --> 00:05:24,320
We don't, Lauren and Jamie, we don't
have a lot of Alaska people here,

102
00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:25,909
like people that live in Alaska.

103
00:05:26,150 --> 00:05:30,800
And although we've seen the beautiful
pictures and the beautiful videos that

104
00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,920
people put up and all this kinda stuff,
and we know we wanna get to know a little

105
00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,039
bit more about Alaska and what it's
like to live there and the beautiful

106
00:05:37,039 --> 00:05:38,150
nature that's, that's about this.

107
00:05:38,150 --> 00:05:41,930
So we're gonna talk a lot about different
things, but before we do, um, I'd love

108
00:05:41,930 --> 00:05:44,990
to get to know you guys a little bit
more so the audience can get to know you

109
00:05:45,230 --> 00:05:46,850
Um, So let's start you with you, Lauren.

110
00:05:46,850 --> 00:05:48,740
Why don't you let know who
you are and what you do.

111
00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:50,659
Uh, hi.

112
00:05:50,659 --> 00:05:51,770
I am Lauren Barrett.

113
00:05:51,770 --> 00:05:56,390
I am the co-executive director here at
Cook and l Keeper in Homer, Alaska on the

114
00:05:56,390 --> 00:05:58,190
traditional lands with the Danina people.

115
00:05:58,700 --> 00:06:01,400
Um, yeah, so I help run this organization.

116
00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,020
I helped do a lot of the fundraising here.

117
00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,560
Um, And then in my spare time
I am mom to two little girls.

118
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,580
So I am out enjoying the Ocean and
trying to keep them from eating.

119
00:06:10,650 --> 00:06:15,575
It's too strange of kelp and, you
know, enjoying the, as kids too.

120
00:06:15,995 --> 00:06:17,250
Living as kids too.

121
00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,669
So, um, yeah, super excited to
talk about Alaska and all the

122
00:06:20,669 --> 00:06:21,479
wonders that there are here.

123
00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:23,010
That's awesome.

124
00:06:23,010 --> 00:06:24,299
I'm gonna have questions about your kids.

125
00:06:24,299 --> 00:06:25,260
I have two girls as well.

126
00:06:25,260 --> 00:06:28,229
They're teenagers, but I, so I could
ask questions about that as well.

127
00:06:28,409 --> 00:06:29,669
Uh, Jamie, how about yourself?

128
00:06:30,179 --> 00:06:30,690
Yeah.

129
00:06:30,690 --> 00:06:32,130
Uh, hi, I'm Jamie.

130
00:06:32,130 --> 00:06:35,369
I am the communications
director for Cook Inlet Keeper.

131
00:06:35,789 --> 00:06:39,719
Um, and, uh, yeah, when I'm not,
uh, running communications for the

132
00:06:39,719 --> 00:06:43,020
organization, I, uh, dabble as well.

133
00:06:43,020 --> 00:06:47,130
I'm a, I'm a filmmaker and science
communicator, so I, I do, I shoot

134
00:06:47,130 --> 00:06:50,400
documentary films and yeah, I
like to spend a lot of time.

135
00:06:50,729 --> 00:06:54,210
Running around outside with my
camera, uh, looking for, looking

136
00:06:54,210 --> 00:06:59,640
for wildlife, and, uh, yeah, just
beautiful things, which I have a fair,

137
00:06:59,700 --> 00:07:01,080
a fair amount to choose from here.

138
00:07:01,140 --> 00:07:04,349
So I was about to say, you picked
a pretty good place to, to do these

139
00:07:04,349 --> 00:07:08,219
types of, of documentaries and,
and, and content, I guess is what,

140
00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:09,630
you know, what it is now, right?

141
00:07:09,990 --> 00:07:13,650
Not only documentary filmmaking, but,
but content as a lot of people are doing.

142
00:07:13,979 --> 00:07:18,870
Look, both of you have, uh, titles and
qualities that, uh, I love to talk about.

143
00:07:18,870 --> 00:07:21,840
So I'm super, super excited
to, to talk about and get to

144
00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,010
know you a little bit more.

145
00:07:23,010 --> 00:07:24,840
Lauren, uh, how old are your girls?

146
00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,830
Because I had two, I had two little girls
at one point and I fell in love with

147
00:07:28,830 --> 00:07:33,000
being a girl, dad, and, uh, so I'd love
to know more about you, two little girls.

148
00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:33,599
How old are they?

149
00:07:34,065 --> 00:07:36,015
Um, So I have a three and a 6-year-old.

150
00:07:36,225 --> 00:07:36,975
Oh, nice.

151
00:07:36,975 --> 00:07:37,755
So three years apart.

152
00:07:37,755 --> 00:07:38,445
Are they close?

153
00:07:38,445 --> 00:07:40,515
Like do they hang out with
each other quite a bit?

154
00:07:40,575 --> 00:07:40,815
Yes.

155
00:07:40,815 --> 00:07:41,085
Get along.

156
00:07:41,100 --> 00:07:44,655
They're, they're best friends, except
for when they are not, but most

157
00:07:44,655 --> 00:07:45,980
of the time they're best friends.

158
00:07:46,695 --> 00:07:47,865
I'll tell you, that doesn't stop.

159
00:07:47,865 --> 00:07:49,695
Just as if they're anything.

160
00:07:49,695 --> 00:07:52,335
My are two and a half, two and a
half years, almost two years apart.

161
00:07:52,395 --> 00:07:56,355
And, uh, yeah, they're 18 and 16
now, so it's, uh, it's a different,

162
00:07:56,355 --> 00:07:57,345
but I've loved every stage.

163
00:07:57,345 --> 00:07:58,305
It's, it's a lot of fun.

164
00:07:58,305 --> 00:08:01,695
So, uh, but they get to grow up
in this beautiful place like this.

165
00:08:01,725 --> 00:08:01,845
Yeah.

166
00:08:01,905 --> 00:08:05,325
You know, cook and lit, you know,
you're, you're in and around, uh, a

167
00:08:05,325 --> 00:08:07,905
wonderful place with beautiful nature.

168
00:08:08,205 --> 00:08:09,885
Uh, pretty much dominated by nature.

169
00:08:09,885 --> 00:08:14,205
It's not as developed as a lot of
the other cities or places in, in

170
00:08:14,205 --> 00:08:16,350
the us and obviously it's, it's, um.

171
00:08:16,770 --> 00:08:21,510
I, I, I would say it's, it's dominated
by cold weather really, and, and

172
00:08:21,659 --> 00:08:24,299
dark and light times depending
on the, on the time of the year.

173
00:08:24,299 --> 00:08:28,530
It's a very, uh, I guess like a extreme,
more extreme type of weather and

174
00:08:28,530 --> 00:08:30,750
type of environment to, to live in.

175
00:08:30,990 --> 00:08:33,750
Now, both of you didn't grow
up in Alaska, but you both

176
00:08:33,809 --> 00:08:35,490
have lived there for six years.

177
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,130
Uh, so we'll start with you Lauren.

178
00:08:38,130 --> 00:08:43,140
What brought you up here and really
made you fall in love with, with

179
00:08:43,140 --> 00:08:44,579
the pla like with Alaska itself?

180
00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,360
Yeah, so I mean, really actually my girls
are probably what brought me up here.

181
00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:53,220
I was born down in the Florida Keys Um,
so I've always loved living by the coast.

182
00:08:53,220 --> 00:08:57,390
But then most of my, um, adult
life have lived in landlocked.

183
00:08:57,390 --> 00:08:59,160
I was in Montana for a long time.

184
00:08:59,189 --> 00:09:01,439
Um, I did the Peace Corps down in Guyana.

185
00:09:01,439 --> 00:09:01,530
Cool.

186
00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,319
Um, kind of traveled around for a lot.

187
00:09:04,319 --> 00:09:08,100
And after we got pregnant with my
first daughter, my husband and I, who

188
00:09:08,100 --> 00:09:11,735
was a guiding in Yellowstone at the
time, um, we were both like, we really.

189
00:09:12,525 --> 00:09:15,315
Wildlife and wild places are a
thing that we really value and

190
00:09:15,315 --> 00:09:19,755
we want our girls to grow up, um,
with access to a really wild place.

191
00:09:19,755 --> 00:09:24,675
And so we kind of on a whim came up
and, um, it was his first time coming

192
00:09:24,675 --> 00:09:28,935
here and I convinced him and we,
uh, found a little cabin and moved

193
00:09:28,935 --> 00:09:30,315
out here and haven't looked back.

194
00:09:30,315 --> 00:09:35,865
It's been a really, really special
place to raise my kids and a really like

195
00:09:35,925 --> 00:09:40,065
wonderful tie in now to work here and be
able to really protect this place so that

196
00:09:40,065 --> 00:09:41,925
they continue to have this growing up.

197
00:09:41,925 --> 00:09:43,875
So yeah, they're often
in the office with me.

198
00:09:43,875 --> 00:09:46,995
They think they're little cooking
look keepers and um, they yell at

199
00:09:46,995 --> 00:09:48,225
people on the beach for littering.

200
00:09:48,225 --> 00:09:50,325
So it's wonderful.

201
00:09:51,105 --> 00:09:51,615
I love it.

202
00:09:51,855 --> 00:09:52,305
I love it.

203
00:09:52,305 --> 00:09:53,595
Now, how hard was it?

204
00:09:54,210 --> 00:09:59,340
For your husband to leave, uh, being a
park ranger at Yellowstone Iconic National

205
00:09:59,340 --> 00:10:03,630
Park, I know us has a number of national
parks and they're all beautiful, but, you

206
00:10:03,630 --> 00:10:05,190
know, Yellowstone's a pretty iconic thing.

207
00:10:05,190 --> 00:10:06,210
I'm sure it was a dream of him.

208
00:10:06,210 --> 00:10:08,410
Was that a difficult decision
for him to, to make Yeah.

209
00:10:08,410 --> 00:10:09,840
Yeah, he was a wildlife guy.

210
00:10:09,930 --> 00:10:11,640
Um, So lots of options.

211
00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:12,810
I'm sorry, wildlife for that up here.

212
00:10:12,810 --> 00:10:13,290
Yeah.

213
00:10:13,650 --> 00:10:18,630
Um, and as much as we love Yellowstone
and we love the prairies and we love

214
00:10:18,630 --> 00:10:22,200
the bison, um, it was really neat
to get to come up here and learn.

215
00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,680
I mean, it's really a whole learning
about the coast and learning about

216
00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:27,390
the Ocean is a whole new experience.

217
00:10:27,390 --> 00:10:29,640
And so it's been really
wonderful for both of us.

218
00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:30,215
It's Oh good.

219
00:10:30,325 --> 00:10:31,560
It's never a dull moment.

220
00:10:32,070 --> 00:10:32,760
That's awesome.

221
00:10:32,910 --> 00:10:33,570
That's awesome.

222
00:10:33,900 --> 00:10:35,760
Uh, now Jamie, how about yourself?

223
00:10:35,790 --> 00:10:38,190
You know, you came up here, I
believe for a master's degree

224
00:10:38,190 --> 00:10:39,990
in Marine biology at Fairbanks.

225
00:10:40,500 --> 00:10:44,190
Uh, talk a little bit about that
and what made you wanna stay in

226
00:10:44,190 --> 00:10:45,600
such a, a different environment?

227
00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:46,830
Yeah.

228
00:10:46,860 --> 00:10:47,310
Yeah.

229
00:10:47,310 --> 00:10:52,800
Um, well, I, I, I grew up in Maine,
so also kind of from, you know,

230
00:10:52,860 --> 00:10:55,845
uh, I guess a slightly chillier
environment, at least Yeah.

231
00:10:55,860 --> 00:10:55,920
Yeah.

232
00:10:55,950 --> 00:10:58,320
Um, they're not quite Alaska
level, but still chilly.

233
00:10:58,860 --> 00:11:05,250
Uh, and yeah, you know, I, I moved up
here in 2020, um, 'cause I, I landed

234
00:11:05,250 --> 00:11:09,540
a position, uh, to do a master's
degree and do a, a master's thesis,

235
00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:14,250
uh, looking at Ocean acidification
and, uh, sort of climate change

236
00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:16,380
impacts in the Kmac Bay area.

237
00:11:16,380 --> 00:11:19,500
So right outside of, right
outside of our door, basically.

238
00:11:19,770 --> 00:11:19,920
Right.

239
00:11:19,980 --> 00:11:24,480
Um, and yeah, I, I came up
here for that and I was doing.

240
00:11:24,775 --> 00:11:29,815
Just had like, just crazy adventures
throughout graduate school and was

241
00:11:29,815 --> 00:11:32,365
doing a lot of diving and Yeah.

242
00:11:32,365 --> 00:11:37,405
Ran into, ran into crazy stuff
like, you know, stellar sea lions

243
00:11:37,465 --> 00:11:42,175
underwater and like, just had a
phenomenal experience and Right.

244
00:11:42,295 --> 00:11:47,965
You know, totally fell in love with, with
this place and just never wanted to leave.

245
00:11:48,025 --> 00:11:53,960
And I think that, so I work as a, i I
do a lot of like filmmaking and Right.

246
00:11:54,145 --> 00:11:56,935
And science communication and, and
photography, that kind of thing.

247
00:11:56,935 --> 00:12:01,135
And I think the, the thing that's just
that I love so much about this place is

248
00:12:01,135 --> 00:12:05,305
that it's so easy to kind of show other
people and to, to capture it and sort

249
00:12:05,305 --> 00:12:07,405
of bring it, bring it to, to others.

250
00:12:07,405 --> 00:12:11,095
And that's, you know, it is just a,
it's a privilege to live in this place.

251
00:12:11,095 --> 00:12:13,645
And I think the thing that drives,
one of the things that drives me

252
00:12:13,645 --> 00:12:16,465
is wanting to share that, you know?

253
00:12:16,675 --> 00:12:17,125
Yeah.

254
00:12:17,125 --> 00:12:18,325
I love, I love that.

255
00:12:18,715 --> 00:12:19,975
Uh, I'll start with you, Jamie.

256
00:12:19,975 --> 00:12:23,485
Like what was the most
surprising thing for you?

257
00:12:24,135 --> 00:12:27,314
When you moved up here, good
or bad, that you didn't expect

258
00:12:27,314 --> 00:12:28,545
when you first moved up here.

259
00:12:28,545 --> 00:12:29,685
I'll ask the same thing for Lawrence.

260
00:12:29,685 --> 00:12:31,425
We'll give Lauren A. Little
time to think about that.

261
00:12:31,425 --> 00:12:33,885
But like, what was, like, what
was the thing where you're

262
00:12:33,885 --> 00:12:35,834
like, oh, I did not expect this.

263
00:12:35,895 --> 00:12:36,225
You know?

264
00:12:37,365 --> 00:12:37,995
Yeah.

265
00:12:37,995 --> 00:12:42,900
I think what I, I think that, I mean,
there was a, there was a bunch of stuff.

266
00:12:43,005 --> 00:12:48,314
I think, um, I think I, I didn't
expect that a large portion of the

267
00:12:48,314 --> 00:12:50,025
population doesn't have running water.

268
00:12:50,775 --> 00:12:51,314
Um.

269
00:12:51,660 --> 00:12:57,630
That was a, that was a surprise because
it takes a lot of energy to heat pipes

270
00:12:57,630 --> 00:12:59,760
to keep the pipes thawed out here.

271
00:13:00,060 --> 00:13:00,480
That's true.

272
00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,650
So a lot of people live, uh, live
in sort of the dry cabin lifestyle.

273
00:13:04,650 --> 00:13:08,100
My, uh, a lot of, I had a lot of friends
who did that in graduate school, and that

274
00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:11,910
was obviously a bit of a new experience,
but, you know, it's really easy to

275
00:13:11,910 --> 00:13:17,190
kind of figure it out and, and have a
great time doing it, uh, once you've,

276
00:13:17,220 --> 00:13:18,210
once you've done it for a little bit.

277
00:13:18,210 --> 00:13:19,380
But it, that was interesting.

278
00:13:19,380 --> 00:13:23,460
And I think the other thing that just
amazed me was the size of the place.

279
00:13:23,550 --> 00:13:29,190
Um, 'cause I knew Alaska was big, but I
did my master's degree, so I did all my

280
00:13:29,190 --> 00:13:33,450
classwork, my coursework up in Fairbanks
and all of my research down here in Homer.

281
00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,710
Um, and it is pretty much a
straight shot from one to the other.

282
00:13:37,710 --> 00:13:43,530
And it's a 12 hour drive and that
covers like, I don't know, a third

283
00:13:43,530 --> 00:13:44,940
of the state, quarter of the state.

284
00:13:44,970 --> 00:13:45,030
Yeah.

285
00:13:45,300 --> 00:13:48,390
And, you know, it's just,
there's, and there's so much of

286
00:13:48,390 --> 00:13:50,730
it that doesn't have roads on it.

287
00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:54,240
It's just, you know, it's, it's just wild.

288
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:54,300
Yeah.

289
00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,710
Um, and that was, I mean, I
knew that on paper mm-hmm.

290
00:13:58,950 --> 00:14:03,480
Coming here, but it's quite, it's one
thing to kind of know that in theory

291
00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,120
and it's, it's, it's a very different
thing to kind of experience that.

292
00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:06,540
Oh, yeah.

293
00:14:06,540 --> 00:14:08,189
Uh, in, in person.

294
00:14:08,965 --> 00:14:09,205
Absolutely.

295
00:14:09,390 --> 00:14:09,750
Absolutely.

296
00:14:09,750 --> 00:14:10,650
How about yourself, Lauren?

297
00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:14,189
Like, what was the most surprising
thing for you, your husband?

298
00:14:14,189 --> 00:14:14,880
Like, your family?

299
00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,430
Like, what was the thing that you're
like, oh, I didn't expect that.

300
00:14:18,035 --> 00:14:19,470
Yeah, that's a hard question.

301
00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:21,270
Um, Alaska is so unique.

302
00:14:21,270 --> 00:14:27,420
I think probably initially, um, the
road system, I would say, like you

303
00:14:27,420 --> 00:14:30,540
mentioned, I think before when we were
chatting, we're at the end of the road.

304
00:14:30,540 --> 00:14:33,030
I live, uh, 15 miles outside of Homer.

305
00:14:33,030 --> 00:14:36,090
So I'm, there's three miles a road
after me, And then you're done.

306
00:14:36,660 --> 00:14:37,500
Um, which I love.

307
00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,680
I get to see, I can see three
glaciers from my living room window.

308
00:14:40,740 --> 00:14:42,060
Um, it's pretty magical.

309
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,020
But I'm used to having tons of
like, public access roads and

310
00:14:46,020 --> 00:14:48,960
public access cabins, really
easily available in Montana.

311
00:14:49,770 --> 00:14:53,610
And so, um, just figuring out like
how to get out and engage with nature

312
00:14:53,610 --> 00:14:55,199
has been really different here.

313
00:14:55,199 --> 00:14:55,770
Mm-hmm.

314
00:14:55,805 --> 00:14:59,730
Um, and it's kind of a steep learning
curve, but what I love about it is like

315
00:14:59,730 --> 00:15:03,780
you kind of have to dig into the community
because as soon as you start building

316
00:15:03,780 --> 00:15:07,410
up in the community, suddenly folks are
taking you out and showing you where the

317
00:15:07,410 --> 00:15:10,890
trails are and showing you and taking you
there, you on their boats across the bay.

318
00:15:10,890 --> 00:15:10,949
Yeah.

319
00:15:10,949 --> 00:15:14,280
And then, um, kind of a whole
world will open up to you, but

320
00:15:14,970 --> 00:15:19,949
you really can't, uh, be like the
individual rugged explorer out here.

321
00:15:19,949 --> 00:15:22,560
You really need community to be
able to get out, which is gotcha.

322
00:15:23,220 --> 00:15:23,699
Which is great.

323
00:15:23,699 --> 00:15:24,819
I think I like it about that.

324
00:15:25,185 --> 00:15:26,535
It's phenomenal.

325
00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:32,175
Um, how did, uh, Jamie, you kind of
mentioned how you, you know, what led you

326
00:15:32,175 --> 00:15:36,645
to Inlet Keeper in a, in a way, 'cause
you did a lot of your work at, in Homer,

327
00:15:37,064 --> 00:15:41,415
um, when you did your masters, uh, you
obviously you're, you love communications,

328
00:15:41,415 --> 00:15:43,275
you love filmmaking, uh, things like that.

329
00:15:43,275 --> 00:15:47,474
How did you end up like, you know,
working for, for Inland Keeper

330
00:15:47,474 --> 00:15:50,685
or discovering and did you do
work with your masters with them?

331
00:15:50,685 --> 00:15:53,775
Did you use some of their resources
or like, how did it all come

332
00:15:53,775 --> 00:15:55,064
about, I guess is the question?

333
00:15:55,170 --> 00:15:58,484
It, yeah, you know, it, it was
kind of a, it was kind of a weird,

334
00:15:58,604 --> 00:16:05,055
uh, a weird sort of, uh, chain
of events because I, um, was.

335
00:16:05,765 --> 00:16:09,870
So I had not actually encountered
Inlet keeper other than I'd seen

336
00:16:09,870 --> 00:16:14,040
the bumper stickers and the, the
logo, which, uh, I'm wearing on my

337
00:16:14,070 --> 00:16:15,870
Yes, I see, uh, sweatshirt today.

338
00:16:16,050 --> 00:16:19,260
I'd seen that before, but I hadn't
seen anything else of theirs.

339
00:16:19,260 --> 00:16:22,260
But I'd been working in and out of
the Homer area for a couple of years

340
00:16:22,620 --> 00:16:28,050
and, um, I had gotten a fellowship
after my, after my master's degree

341
00:16:28,050 --> 00:16:31,230
ended, um, working for Noah Fisheries.

342
00:16:31,530 --> 00:16:34,710
And, you know, I was not totally
sure what my career would be doing

343
00:16:34,710 --> 00:16:37,260
and, you know, was, I'd spent a
couple of years trying to figure,

344
00:16:37,290 --> 00:16:38,790
figure out, you know, what I'd liked.

345
00:16:38,790 --> 00:16:42,720
I knew I wanted to do, like bring in
sort of my filmmaking background 'cause

346
00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:44,520
I have a undergraduate degree in that.

347
00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:46,200
And, you know, I wanted
to do documentaries.

348
00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,390
I was making 'em for Noah,
but it was like a fellowship.

349
00:16:48,540 --> 00:16:50,580
And then, um.

350
00:16:50,910 --> 00:16:55,860
Yeah, I, I, uh, saw this opening
at Inlet Keeper right around the

351
00:16:55,860 --> 00:17:01,800
same time as all the Doge cuts were
happening, um, at, at Noah, and I was

352
00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:05,879
like, wow, this is, I mean, this is
exactly where I wanna be doing the

353
00:17:05,879 --> 00:17:07,500
kind of work that I wanna be doing.

354
00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:07,560
Yeah.

355
00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:12,810
You know, that actually allows me to,
you know, have an opinion and also, uh,

356
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:19,650
and also to, you know, to, to, to go to
this amazing place and, uh, and do good

357
00:17:19,650 --> 00:17:21,569
work for, for the environment out here.

358
00:17:21,569 --> 00:17:23,339
So I was just like, heck yeah.

359
00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:24,599
Um, yeah.

360
00:17:24,900 --> 00:17:30,570
And so that's, yeah, so I, I applied
and am still amazed that I got it.

361
00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,480
Um, but it's, it's awesome every day.

362
00:17:34,050 --> 00:17:34,410
Yeah.

363
00:17:34,410 --> 00:17:35,670
Well, I can see why you got it.

364
00:17:35,670 --> 00:17:37,740
Just from talking, from talking to you.

365
00:17:37,740 --> 00:17:38,880
It makes, it makes sense.

366
00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,070
I'm sure Lauren feels
the same, the same way.

367
00:17:41,070 --> 00:17:44,280
Lauren, you know, you mentioned
before your co-executive director.

368
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,530
How did all that come to be?

369
00:17:46,590 --> 00:17:51,060
Uh, pretty, pretty, uh, big role, you
know, uh, you know, I know it's a,

370
00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:53,880
you know, people are like, well, it
could be like a smaller organization,

371
00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:58,440
but you probably have a lot on your
plate as an organization in general,

372
00:17:58,740 --> 00:18:03,330
how did, uh, this, this role come
up for you and, and what, like what

373
00:18:03,330 --> 00:18:05,130
led you to, to get a role like this?

374
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:05,760
Yeah.

375
00:18:05,820 --> 00:18:09,660
Uh, kind of roundabout, honestly, my
undergraduate work was an environmental

376
00:18:09,660 --> 00:18:12,390
studies, um, and creative writing.

377
00:18:12,780 --> 00:18:15,420
Um, And then I graduated and
had no idea what I wanted to do.

378
00:18:15,420 --> 00:18:19,200
So I joined the Peace Corps, um, yeah,
with the intention of working in environ.

379
00:18:19,230 --> 00:18:22,260
They have an environmental
program, um, but ended up doing

380
00:18:22,260 --> 00:18:23,880
education actually, And so.

381
00:18:24,795 --> 00:18:27,105
I really loved doing that
work and doing the community

382
00:18:27,105 --> 00:18:28,545
building aspect of that work.

383
00:18:28,545 --> 00:18:31,365
So I came back and got a
master's in international

384
00:18:31,365 --> 00:18:32,895
development and social change.

385
00:18:33,015 --> 00:18:33,105
Mm-hmm.

386
00:18:33,525 --> 00:18:38,205
Um, and I was kind of moving like more
and more away from the environmental

387
00:18:38,205 --> 00:18:41,805
stuff and, but it also has like
such a deep seed in my heart.

388
00:18:41,805 --> 00:18:43,695
You know, my dad is a fly fishing guide.

389
00:18:43,965 --> 00:18:47,085
He's always been very involved
in like bonefish tarp and trust

390
00:18:47,085 --> 00:18:48,585
and the work they do down there.

391
00:18:48,585 --> 00:18:51,945
And so it's always, it's always
been in the vernacular of my family.

392
00:18:52,335 --> 00:18:57,495
Um, and when I came here I kind of
worked a few different nonprofit jobs.

393
00:18:57,525 --> 00:19:01,575
Um, I have a lot of experience with
nonprofit management And so I've always

394
00:19:01,575 --> 00:19:05,385
had my eye, like before I moved to Homer,
I had my eye on Cook and lake keeper.

395
00:19:05,895 --> 00:19:08,715
Um, and when this role became
available, I'd been here

396
00:19:08,715 --> 00:19:10,605
about five, well, four years.

397
00:19:11,025 --> 00:19:11,325
Yeah.

398
00:19:11,325 --> 00:19:15,855
Um, and it just felt like, it felt
like the perfect combination of all

399
00:19:15,855 --> 00:19:17,270
of my skills and, um, sounds like it.

400
00:19:17,540 --> 00:19:17,830
Yeah.

401
00:19:17,830 --> 00:19:18,390
I've, I've.

402
00:19:19,979 --> 00:19:23,159
You know, having two young kids, if I'm
gonna work, I wanna be doing something

403
00:19:23,159 --> 00:19:25,620
where I feel like I'm really like
putting my heart and soul into it.

404
00:19:25,620 --> 00:19:30,090
And so, um, being able to do this has
been like the perfect marriage of all

405
00:19:30,090 --> 00:19:31,739
of the different pieces of my life.

406
00:19:32,429 --> 00:19:32,939
Absolutely.

407
00:19:32,939 --> 00:19:34,320
For my own selfishness.

408
00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:36,419
How did you get the nonprofit experience?

409
00:19:36,419 --> 00:19:39,794
Were you just working in the nonprofit
industry or did you go back to school

410
00:19:39,854 --> 00:19:41,429
or did you learn it in your master's?

411
00:19:41,429 --> 00:19:42,510
Like how did that work?

412
00:19:42,719 --> 00:19:46,409
Yeah, so, um, part of my master's
has like an element of like

413
00:19:46,409 --> 00:19:47,909
grant writing and administration.

414
00:19:47,909 --> 00:19:52,889
And then I very randomly, um,
because of work I'd done as like a

415
00:19:52,919 --> 00:19:57,689
volunteer when we were in Gardner,
Montana, um, kind of stepped into

416
00:19:57,689 --> 00:19:58,919
the role of executive director.

417
00:19:58,919 --> 00:20:00,840
It's a very small town,
it's like 300 folks.

418
00:20:01,229 --> 00:20:01,260
Okay.

419
00:20:01,350 --> 00:20:04,080
Um, And so, but that
was a great experience.

420
00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:06,060
I got to learn how to run a business.

421
00:20:06,090 --> 00:20:08,580
Um, and I worked really closely
with the National Park Service

422
00:20:08,610 --> 00:20:09,629
'cause we're right on the border.

423
00:20:09,629 --> 00:20:09,719
Mm-hmm.

424
00:20:10,439 --> 00:20:12,510
Um, so I learned a lot during that job.

425
00:20:12,510 --> 00:20:15,120
And then moving here, I was
the development director at

426
00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,129
our, uh, local NPR station.

427
00:20:17,489 --> 00:20:17,790
Oh, cool.

428
00:20:18,495 --> 00:20:21,495
So, yeah, I've gotten to dabble in a
lot of different nonprofit structures.

429
00:20:21,525 --> 00:20:21,765
Yeah.

430
00:20:22,395 --> 00:20:23,205
Oh, very, very cool.

431
00:20:23,265 --> 00:20:23,775
Very cool.

432
00:20:24,015 --> 00:20:27,105
That was, you know, speaking of Inlet
Keeper, can you, uh, Lauren, can you

433
00:20:27,105 --> 00:20:31,695
just talk about sort of the mission
and, and what you, what Inlet Keeper

434
00:20:31,695 --> 00:20:36,735
does in and around the inlet and,
and, and sort of the overall mission?

435
00:20:37,275 --> 00:20:41,505
Yeah, so our mission is to protect
the cooking lit water watershed

436
00:20:41,505 --> 00:20:43,125
and all the life it sustains.

437
00:20:43,545 --> 00:20:46,995
Um, pretty broad mission, but
we've met for 30 years now.

438
00:20:47,475 --> 00:20:50,985
Um, it's, we do a lot of different things.

439
00:20:50,985 --> 00:20:55,095
We always talk about, um, having
this really unique mix of science,

440
00:20:55,125 --> 00:20:58,455
outreach and advocacy, And so those
are kind of our three branches.

441
00:20:58,965 --> 00:21:02,535
Um, And so we try really hard to have
this great balance of like stopping

442
00:21:02,535 --> 00:21:03,920
the bad and building the good.

443
00:21:04,340 --> 00:21:04,760
Mm-hmm.

444
00:21:04,845 --> 00:21:09,525
So, um, you know, we, it's very
easy, especially in like the year

445
00:21:09,525 --> 00:21:13,455
2026, um, to be really focused on
that, stopping the bad, but we also

446
00:21:13,485 --> 00:21:16,665
want this element of building up our
communities and making sure that they're.

447
00:21:17,100 --> 00:21:18,780
Um, able to thrive long term.

448
00:21:18,780 --> 00:21:23,610
So we do a lot of, a lot of our capacity
goes to like watershed wide campaigns

449
00:21:23,610 --> 00:21:27,810
where we're mobilizing folks like the
five year plan, um, on actions they can

450
00:21:27,810 --> 00:21:29,700
take to protect their lands and waters.

451
00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,360
Um, really holding corporations
and industry accountable.

452
00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:36,600
We do a lot of work, um, on
like mining campaigns right now.

453
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,030
In particular, a lot of
work with oil and gas.

454
00:21:39,330 --> 00:21:43,800
And then the other part of our work is a
lot of stuff on, um, more like community

455
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:45,480
building and a lot of climate change.

456
00:21:45,510 --> 00:21:48,420
So I don't know if you're familiar
with the project draw down.

457
00:21:49,050 --> 00:21:51,450
Um, we've done some really
similar models to that.

458
00:21:51,450 --> 00:21:55,410
So we've done really cool programs
like helping to remove barriers

459
00:21:55,410 --> 00:21:58,830
to installing solar panels and
improving local waste streams.

460
00:21:58,830 --> 00:22:02,520
And, um, working with the city
for non-motorized transport.

461
00:22:02,940 --> 00:22:06,270
Um, we've got a really neat one in
Soldotna, which is our office just up

462
00:22:06,270 --> 00:22:10,050
the road from us, um, where they're
taking volunteers out and mapping

463
00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:15,240
an aima streams, um, and helping to
put those on the conservation maps.

464
00:22:15,285 --> 00:22:15,505
So.

465
00:22:16,275 --> 00:22:17,805
It really spans what we do.

466
00:22:17,895 --> 00:22:19,335
Uh, yeah.

467
00:22:19,395 --> 00:22:23,565
It seems like, like, well, I mean, but
that's what it, what it goes for when

468
00:22:23,565 --> 00:22:28,605
you're managing a watershed, because it's
not just oceans, it's fresh water, it's

469
00:22:28,605 --> 00:22:32,715
land, it's, it's pretty much everything
that encapsulate that, that watershed.

470
00:22:32,715 --> 00:22:35,025
'cause it all affects everything.

471
00:22:35,055 --> 00:22:36,075
Everything affects everything.

472
00:22:36,075 --> 00:22:37,425
When it, when it comes down to it.

473
00:22:37,635 --> 00:22:42,915
I love how, you know, you, you're not
just attacking or protecting from the

474
00:22:42,915 --> 00:22:44,805
bad, but you're building up the good.

475
00:22:44,865 --> 00:22:49,754
And I think, you know, I think that's
where conservation has gone more.

476
00:22:50,355 --> 00:22:52,875
I think we still have a lot of work
to do, but I feel like that seems

477
00:22:52,875 --> 00:22:58,605
to be the motion in terms of doing
a community building and, and making

478
00:22:58,605 --> 00:23:02,625
resilient communities or, or help
building resilient communities.

479
00:23:02,925 --> 00:23:06,345
Um, now obviously, you know, cook
Inlet and the communities around it.

480
00:23:07,020 --> 00:23:11,129
Probably a very unique, uh,
characteristics of communities,

481
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:15,629
indigenous, non-indigenous, uh,
people, um, living together.

482
00:23:15,750 --> 00:23:20,640
Uh, are there any territorial lands a
along the, the, the Cook Inlet as well?

483
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:31,050
This is, I mean, yeah, so I, I would say
that um, there are, so, there are lands

484
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:37,230
that are, uh, that are historically,
uh, that are historically, uh, different

485
00:23:37,230 --> 00:23:38,970
tribal territories in the area.

486
00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:39,000
Okay.

487
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:43,710
So, um, you know, this is the
ancestral home of the Danina, uh,

488
00:23:43,710 --> 00:23:47,490
the Supak and the Ellu people of
Alaska's South Central region.

489
00:23:47,879 --> 00:23:52,410
Um, and I mean, it currently holds
two thirds of Alaska's population

490
00:23:52,410 --> 00:23:57,240
is sort of this, this south central
area of Alaska, um, which Cook inlet.

491
00:23:57,885 --> 00:24:03,165
It comprises a, a good portion of,
so it is, uh, you know, historically,

492
00:24:03,225 --> 00:24:09,345
uh, it, it has, uh, had a variety
of, um, uh, of traditional peoples

493
00:24:09,345 --> 00:24:12,915
out here that have been living in
this place since time immemorial.

494
00:24:13,215 --> 00:24:13,365
Mm-hmm.

495
00:24:13,785 --> 00:24:19,065
Um, and, uh, you know, there, there's
still, you know, there's, in terms

496
00:24:19,065 --> 00:24:25,515
of, I would say in terms of, um,
tribal lands specifically mm-hmm.

497
00:24:25,875 --> 00:24:30,315
Some tribes like, have, uh, have
areas that are, that are owned by

498
00:24:30,315 --> 00:24:32,235
like tribal corporations Gotcha.

499
00:24:32,235 --> 00:24:33,255
Out here, that sort of thing.

500
00:24:33,255 --> 00:24:33,285
Okay.

501
00:24:33,645 --> 00:24:37,995
Um, but yeah, it's more, I would say
from a, a broad stroke standpoint, I

502
00:24:37,995 --> 00:24:42,675
would, I think of it as more, um, the,
the total, the, the totality of the

503
00:24:42,675 --> 00:24:48,915
land and waters are all originally,
uh, tr are all traditional homelands

504
00:24:49,065 --> 00:24:51,225
of, uh, one or more peoples out here.

505
00:24:51,255 --> 00:24:51,645
Gotcha.

506
00:24:51,825 --> 00:24:52,155
Interesting.

507
00:24:52,155 --> 00:24:52,215
Yeah.

508
00:24:52,215 --> 00:24:56,145
Alaska has a really unique, which
I'm not even gonna pretend to.

509
00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:57,930
Uh, no.

510
00:24:57,930 --> 00:24:58,560
Well enough.

511
00:24:58,560 --> 00:24:58,650
Right.

512
00:24:58,860 --> 00:25:01,470
But it has a really unique,
um, division because of Ilca.

513
00:25:01,470 --> 00:25:04,020
So there's, um, native corporations Okay.

514
00:25:04,020 --> 00:25:05,970
Which is really different
than the rest of the lower 48.

515
00:25:05,970 --> 00:25:08,490
So we do have a lot of tribal
partners that we work with.

516
00:25:08,490 --> 00:25:13,530
Like across the bay from us, we have
Dan Wallock, Alvia, uh, port Graham,

517
00:25:13,530 --> 00:25:18,300
just up the road we have Nilch and
Keni and Soff Um, So we work really

518
00:25:18,300 --> 00:25:19,620
closely with all of those guys.

519
00:25:19,620 --> 00:25:21,630
We have really longstanding
partnerships with.

520
00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:22,650
That's so cool.

521
00:25:22,650 --> 00:25:25,800
And it must like working with those,
those types of partners and having

522
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:30,270
those partnerships, especially with
like in the way in indigenous people

523
00:25:30,270 --> 00:25:33,690
have traditionally lived on land
and the way they care for that land.

524
00:25:34,020 --> 00:25:40,380
Has it influenced the way Cook Inlet looks
at its programs and manages its programs

525
00:25:40,380 --> 00:25:45,690
in terms of using some of, like using
those, you know, those I guess thought

526
00:25:45,690 --> 00:25:51,390
processes or even, uh, conservation
values in, in the way you do your work?

527
00:25:52,425 --> 00:25:53,750
Go ahead Lauren.

528
00:25:53,750 --> 00:25:53,865
Go ahead Lauren.

529
00:25:54,855 --> 00:25:57,855
Just say both of us, both of us
went to see absolute, both of us

530
00:25:57,855 --> 00:25:59,445
went to say absolutely on that.

531
00:25:59,445 --> 00:25:59,595
Yeah.

532
00:25:59,685 --> 00:26:02,534
But Lauren, if you wanna go,
go ahead Lauren, if you wanted.

533
00:26:03,555 --> 00:26:05,235
Um, no, I would say absolutely.

534
00:26:05,235 --> 00:26:07,665
I would say like any
environmental organization,

535
00:26:07,665 --> 00:26:09,014
there's always more to learn.

536
00:26:09,075 --> 00:26:09,764
Um mm-hmm.

537
00:26:10,004 --> 00:26:12,885
And so it's something that we make
a really concerted effort to be

538
00:26:12,975 --> 00:26:15,284
constantly, constantly learning and Yeah.

539
00:26:15,495 --> 00:26:19,305
Um, being really cognizant of
and having conversations where

540
00:26:19,305 --> 00:26:20,325
we're getting that feedback.

541
00:26:20,325 --> 00:26:21,195
So, yeah.

542
00:26:21,225 --> 00:26:21,615
Gotcha.

543
00:26:21,975 --> 00:26:22,245
Gotcha.

544
00:26:22,330 --> 00:26:25,815
And, and I would just add that,
you know, a lot of the, a lot of

545
00:26:25,815 --> 00:26:30,615
the, the sort of foci, foci of
our, a lot of the things that our

546
00:26:30,615 --> 00:26:33,405
organization focus on are, you know.

547
00:26:33,465 --> 00:26:38,205
I in some way related to, to
resources that are traditionally

548
00:26:38,205 --> 00:26:39,435
very, very important.

549
00:26:39,764 --> 00:26:42,945
Um, So one of the things, another of
the many things that surprised me about

550
00:26:42,945 --> 00:26:47,385
Alaska when I came out here was the
amount of subsistence harvesting that

551
00:26:47,385 --> 00:26:49,935
happens, um, out here year to year.

552
00:26:49,935 --> 00:26:53,415
And that's, you know, so it's people
who are going out and either foraging

553
00:26:53,415 --> 00:27:01,905
or hunting or fishing for, for some much
or almost all of their food sources.

554
00:27:02,235 --> 00:27:07,635
So, um, a lot of, so there are a lot of
Alaska native villages up here that pursue

555
00:27:07,635 --> 00:27:10,965
a, a majority subsistence lifestyle.

556
00:27:11,169 --> 00:27:14,985
Um, and it's, you know, millennia
old and it's can supply up

557
00:27:14,985 --> 00:27:16,784
to 90% of the villagers diet.

558
00:27:17,024 --> 00:27:20,355
So we're talking, you know, going
out and foraging for blueberries

559
00:27:20,355 --> 00:27:23,475
when it's blueberry season and,
you know, there's, there's.

560
00:27:24,044 --> 00:27:29,925
There's a, a panoply of different berries
and mushrooms, And then there's hunting.

561
00:27:29,925 --> 00:27:34,274
And then of course we have our
massive annual salmon runs every year.

562
00:27:34,605 --> 00:27:34,665
Yeah.

563
00:27:34,695 --> 00:27:38,324
Um, which, And so we are, and
what's what's actually amazing is

564
00:27:38,324 --> 00:27:42,735
that we, you can kind of experience
this, um, in any sort of context.

565
00:27:42,735 --> 00:27:46,064
So one of my favorite things to do is
to go out and go berry foraging during

566
00:27:46,064 --> 00:27:47,985
the, during the, the late summer.

567
00:27:48,344 --> 00:27:48,885
Um, yeah.

568
00:27:48,945 --> 00:27:55,245
And you can't, that was a new thing for me
because it the sort of that a abundance.

569
00:27:56,370 --> 00:28:00,629
Of sort of the, uh, of sort of
the, the, the resources out here.

570
00:28:00,629 --> 00:28:05,190
The, the fact that you can kind of just
wander into the hills and find enough

571
00:28:05,190 --> 00:28:09,420
blueberries just for yourself to fill,
you know, a couple of gallons to, to

572
00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:13,530
have to have through the winter or more
if you're, if you want, but you know,

573
00:28:13,770 --> 00:28:17,370
or if you need, I should say, um, and
you can just go out or you could go out

574
00:28:17,370 --> 00:28:19,530
during the late summer and actually fish.

575
00:28:19,590 --> 00:28:23,580
Um, and I am not by any
means an expert fisherman.

576
00:28:23,940 --> 00:28:29,399
And I went out with my fiance at
the time who, uh, she also is t an

577
00:28:29,460 --> 00:28:35,550
expert fisherwoman, and it was the,
the sockeye were running up the Kenai

578
00:28:35,550 --> 00:28:41,220
River and she whomped about five fish
out of the water in about 45 minutes.

579
00:28:41,340 --> 00:28:44,520
It was so fast that I couldn't
actually do any fishing because I had

580
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,210
to keep rushing up to her with a net
to try to, to try to catch the thing.

581
00:28:48,540 --> 00:28:52,740
Um, and she's, you know, and it's,
it's that level of abundance.

582
00:28:53,310 --> 00:28:54,659
That is up here still.

583
00:28:55,080 --> 00:29:02,010
Um, that is, you know, so crucial to,
to many, to many of the traditions and

584
00:29:02,010 --> 00:29:04,020
lifestyles and livelihoods up here.

585
00:29:04,050 --> 00:29:04,139
Mm-hmm.

586
00:29:04,379 --> 00:29:04,440
Yeah.

587
00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:08,520
And that's one of the major things that
I think Inlet Keeper focuses on, um,

588
00:29:08,730 --> 00:29:12,389
protecting and making sure that it,
it is present for future generations.

589
00:29:12,930 --> 00:29:16,230
I think that's so interesting because like
when I think of, you know, salmon runs,

590
00:29:16,230 --> 00:29:18,030
I don't think of it as being plentiful.

591
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,750
You know, like when you, because you know,
you hear the, you know, in BC especially

592
00:29:21,750 --> 00:29:25,230
like British Columbia especially, you hear
like the ups and downs that they have.

593
00:29:25,230 --> 00:29:27,810
It's nice to hear that you
can go out and just catch it.

594
00:29:27,810 --> 00:29:28,440
And this is not.

595
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:30,810
The only time I heard, as I
mentioned before, we, we started

596
00:29:30,810 --> 00:29:34,139
the interview, I worked up in the
Beaufort in on the Canadian side.

597
00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:39,000
And you know, speaking to, uh,
the Inuits there they were, they

598
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,310
were saying, yeah, we can go out
and get Arctic char like that.

599
00:29:41,370 --> 00:29:43,590
Like we can get five in like a half hour.

600
00:29:43,620 --> 00:29:47,010
And you're just like, it's like, how
does that, and like massive ones too.

601
00:29:47,010 --> 00:29:48,840
And you're just like,
how, how does that happen?

602
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:49,620
Like, that's amazing.

603
00:29:49,620 --> 00:29:53,220
And they're like, yeah, there is stuff
here and it's, and it's great to do that,

604
00:29:53,220 --> 00:29:56,460
but we wanna keep it that way and we
wanna make sure that it's stays balanced.

605
00:29:56,460 --> 00:29:56,610
Yeah.

606
00:29:56,610 --> 00:29:57,180
Jamie, go ahead.

607
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:57,840
Yeah.

608
00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,889
And I would, I, yeah, I would definitely,
uh, put in a, put in a caveat that

609
00:30:01,889 --> 00:30:06,060
our seminar are not from a historical
standpoint doing well, I would say.

610
00:30:06,060 --> 00:30:06,570
Right, of course.

611
00:30:06,629 --> 00:30:06,870
Understood.

612
00:30:06,870 --> 00:30:10,110
Um, that is, we're, we're way below
where we ought to be right now.

613
00:30:10,139 --> 00:30:10,655
Right, right.

614
00:30:10,660 --> 00:30:13,920
Um, and this is at, this is at sort
of us at, at low ebb and things

615
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:15,120
are looking a bit concerning.

616
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:15,210
Right.

617
00:30:15,450 --> 00:30:17,940
But, um, you know, it, it is.

618
00:30:18,344 --> 00:30:22,094
I, I would say that this is
one of the last places on

619
00:30:22,094 --> 00:30:23,625
earth where you can do that.

620
00:30:23,804 --> 00:30:23,925
Gotcha.

621
00:30:23,955 --> 00:30:27,465
And one of the privileges of living
up here is that it offers you a

622
00:30:27,465 --> 00:30:32,895
window into what the rest of, at
least North America used to be like.

623
00:30:33,014 --> 00:30:41,235
Mm. Um, because this level of abundance
ecologically used to be present throughout

624
00:30:41,264 --> 00:30:44,774
North America and it's not anymore.

625
00:30:45,014 --> 00:30:48,014
And it's easy to lose sight of
that, you know, across generations.

626
00:30:48,014 --> 00:30:51,195
As we, as you know, as time has gone
on, people are like, oh, well it's,

627
00:30:51,195 --> 00:30:54,615
you know, it's normal that it's, it's
very difficult to, or impossible for

628
00:30:54,615 --> 00:30:58,725
us to catch fish and salmon don't run
up here and, you know, we can't find

629
00:30:59,054 --> 00:31:00,584
a ton of berries out in the wild.

630
00:31:00,584 --> 00:31:02,925
That's just not how, how it is out here.

631
00:31:03,615 --> 00:31:05,895
But it used to be Right.

632
00:31:06,135 --> 00:31:06,524
Right.

633
00:31:06,615 --> 00:31:09,465
So that makes, yeah, it's all about
the frame of reference too, right?

634
00:31:09,465 --> 00:31:09,555
Mm-hmm.

635
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,495
When, when you were there, um,
that's, that's really interesting.

636
00:31:12,495 --> 00:31:15,105
You know, you talked about challenges
of, of the salmon run and how

637
00:31:15,165 --> 00:31:16,455
that's not what it used to be.

638
00:31:16,725 --> 00:31:20,475
Lauren, what are some of the, like,
some of the major challenges that, that

639
00:31:20,475 --> 00:31:24,735
the inlet keeper faces or helps with
in, in terms of their, their programs?

640
00:31:25,935 --> 00:31:27,255
Yeah, it changes.

641
00:31:27,315 --> 00:31:31,305
Um, and this year in particular,
it's, it's changing quite rapidly.

642
00:31:31,365 --> 00:31:34,095
Um, oil and gas from the very
beginning has been one that

643
00:31:34,095 --> 00:31:35,475
we've always stayed engaged on.

644
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:35,860
Mm-hmm.

645
00:31:35,940 --> 00:31:38,475
Um, we're really the only group in
Cook Inlet that's working on that.

646
00:31:38,475 --> 00:31:41,085
So, um, we tend to lead the charge there.

647
00:31:41,565 --> 00:31:45,525
Um, I mentioned that we're doing a
lot of work on, um, mining projects.

648
00:31:45,525 --> 00:31:47,985
There's several really big
ones that are also getting fast

649
00:31:47,985 --> 00:31:49,395
tracked under this administration.

650
00:31:49,425 --> 00:31:54,045
Um, there's one across the bay from us
in Lake Clark National Park, actually

651
00:31:54,045 --> 00:31:55,305
on a private land holding there.

652
00:31:55,305 --> 00:31:56,325
That's a gold mine.

653
00:31:56,775 --> 00:31:58,095
Um, that would be just.

654
00:31:58,965 --> 00:32:00,435
It would be the death.

655
00:32:00,615 --> 00:32:01,005
The death.

656
00:32:01,005 --> 00:32:04,185
Now for the, um, critically
endangered cooking, let beluga whale.

657
00:32:04,185 --> 00:32:07,875
So we're doing a lot of work there
on trying to, um, make sure that the

658
00:32:07,875 --> 00:32:10,635
newest science is actually getting
in front of decision makers and

659
00:32:10,635 --> 00:32:13,515
that they're aware of what they're,
what they're allowing to happen.

660
00:32:13,995 --> 00:32:17,325
Um, there's the Donlin Mine, which is
up on the SCA Quim, which is another

661
00:32:17,595 --> 00:32:23,955
giant, um, salmon tributary and a really
important cultural and, um, ecological

662
00:32:23,955 --> 00:32:26,115
source for our tribes up there.

663
00:32:26,115 --> 00:32:27,285
And that's another gold mine.

664
00:32:27,285 --> 00:32:30,555
And so a lot of these mines,
um, they're these big extractive

665
00:32:30,555 --> 00:32:32,295
industries that are mm-hmm.

666
00:32:32,301 --> 00:32:35,415
Coming in and purporting like, oh,
we're gonna put something here.

667
00:32:35,415 --> 00:32:36,135
There's nothing here.

668
00:32:36,135 --> 00:32:38,175
And like Jamie was saying,
there is a lot here.

669
00:32:38,205 --> 00:32:39,420
Um, yeah, it's abundant.

670
00:32:39,465 --> 00:32:41,535
There's, and these are
things that we rely on.

671
00:32:41,535 --> 00:32:44,595
So, um, we do a lot of
watch dogging for that.

672
00:32:44,685 --> 00:32:50,115
Um, and I'm losing myself in your
question, but yeah, so those are come some

673
00:32:50,115 --> 00:32:51,105
of the big ones that we're working on.

674
00:32:51,105 --> 00:32:52,635
Pebble Mine is one that I'm sure.

675
00:32:53,055 --> 00:32:55,155
Um, many of your listeners
have heard about.

676
00:32:55,155 --> 00:32:58,695
That's, um, one that we've worked
on from the very beginning And

677
00:32:58,695 --> 00:33:02,355
then our science work kind of helps
bridge the gap with all of that.

678
00:33:02,355 --> 00:33:06,525
So we actually just finished up, um,
our long-term science director just

679
00:33:06,525 --> 00:33:11,835
retired and she was amazing and created
this 20 year long data set on stream

680
00:33:11,865 --> 00:33:15,255
temperature monitoring, um, that
she really piloted And then helped,

681
00:33:15,705 --> 00:33:17,265
um, spread out across the state.

682
00:33:17,265 --> 00:33:21,675
So we have this amazing data set that's
telling us where is the cold water

683
00:33:21,675 --> 00:33:25,845
ugia, what areas do we really need
to focus our conservation efforts on?

684
00:33:25,875 --> 00:33:27,855
Um, where do we need
to be really concerned?

685
00:33:27,855 --> 00:33:29,295
What's impacting our salmon?

686
00:33:29,415 --> 00:33:29,775
Wow.

687
00:33:30,045 --> 00:33:32,655
Um, and yeah, and we use salmon.

688
00:33:32,655 --> 00:33:34,065
We we're gonna talk about salmon a lot.

689
00:33:34,065 --> 00:33:34,575
Salmon a lot.

690
00:33:34,660 --> 00:33:34,950
Yeah.

691
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:35,710
Understood.

692
00:33:36,510 --> 00:33:40,910
'cause it's, it's absolutely like
the central figure of Alaskan

693
00:33:40,910 --> 00:33:43,695
life and it also is a really great
indicator for everything else.

694
00:33:43,695 --> 00:33:46,215
So, you know, if your salmon are
affected, your beluga are affected.

695
00:33:46,215 --> 00:33:49,425
If your salmon are affected, it's
probably your badar affected.

696
00:33:49,425 --> 00:33:51,765
If your salmon are affected,
your bears are unhappy.

697
00:33:52,590 --> 00:33:55,050
Um, yeah, we're gonna talk about salmon.

698
00:33:55,050 --> 00:33:59,550
Salmon is a really great guiding,
it's that indicator species, right?

699
00:33:59,555 --> 00:33:59,715
Yeah.

700
00:33:59,715 --> 00:34:01,235
Indicator keystone species, Yeah.

701
00:34:01,305 --> 00:34:01,595
Yeah.

702
00:34:01,595 --> 00:34:03,595
Um, and talking point, you
know, it's really by person.

703
00:34:03,665 --> 00:34:03,955
Yeah.

704
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:06,390
Everybody up here eat
salmon fishes for salmon.

705
00:34:06,390 --> 00:34:07,350
Depends on salmon.

706
00:34:07,860 --> 00:34:07,920
Yeah.

707
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:08,250
Across board.

708
00:34:08,909 --> 00:34:11,969
What's interesting, like when I worked
as a Marine mammal observer there, you

709
00:34:11,969 --> 00:34:15,420
know, there was obviously, like in the
US it seems like there was a lot more,

710
00:34:15,420 --> 00:34:19,320
there were a lot more regulations,
uh, you know, with the Marine Male

711
00:34:19,380 --> 00:34:23,580
Protection Act, you know, And so that,
like, you couldn't, the, the rules apply

712
00:34:23,580 --> 00:34:27,810
to not only whales about noise when
they do seismic surveys, but also to

713
00:34:27,810 --> 00:34:29,880
seals and sea lines and, And so forth.

714
00:34:30,420 --> 00:34:33,690
In Canada, it was just whales
that we had to, to look after.

715
00:34:33,870 --> 00:34:34,170
Um.

716
00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:38,550
Now with, with mines, I've, I worked
as an environmental consultant in

717
00:34:38,550 --> 00:34:42,719
Canada with mines and, and, and
sort of the discharges into rivers.

718
00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:47,250
And we used to have like the, the
metal mining, reg effluent regulations.

719
00:34:47,250 --> 00:34:51,750
So there was like a very stringent
rule that every mine had to abide by

720
00:34:51,750 --> 00:34:55,380
and they had to make sure that they
weren't affecting the reference sites

721
00:34:55,380 --> 00:34:58,110
or the, the, the downstream sites
compared to the reference sites.

722
00:34:58,110 --> 00:35:00,480
And we looked at a bunch of
different, different indicators.

723
00:35:00,990 --> 00:35:04,890
Uh, obviously, you know, the Marine Male
Protection Act very, very, uh, important.

724
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:07,950
Uh, I know it's under threat right now
and we can probably do an entire episode

725
00:35:07,950 --> 00:35:11,700
just on that, but with, with all the minds
that you mentioned, it seems like that's

726
00:35:11,700 --> 00:35:17,250
a, a big topic in, in your area, are
there regulations surrounding effluent?

727
00:35:17,340 --> 00:35:22,529
So the, the discharge from, from metal
mining, um, and, and other things that you

728
00:35:22,529 --> 00:35:28,380
can use as sort of like an indicator of
how the established mines are affecting.

729
00:35:28,785 --> 00:35:32,475
Uh, the rivers and what new mines
need to look out for or what

730
00:35:32,715 --> 00:35:35,265
compared to what old mines may
have gotten away with in the past.

731
00:35:36,165 --> 00:35:38,715
And Jamie, I'll let you, or or
whoever would like to answer that, but

732
00:35:41,655 --> 00:35:43,095
I'm not sure the answer for that one.

733
00:35:43,095 --> 00:35:45,315
You would have to pull in
like our program expert.

734
00:35:45,315 --> 00:35:50,775
I, the one specifically that I'm
referring to the whales on, um, our

735
00:35:50,775 --> 00:35:54,495
biggest concern, immediate concern,
is they would need a deep sea port.

736
00:35:54,585 --> 00:36:00,525
Um, a lot of, a lot of Alaska, like, just
because it's not developed for industry,

737
00:36:00,525 --> 00:36:05,445
a lot of the concerns are just like these
road systems that have to be put in.

738
00:36:05,505 --> 00:36:06,045
Um Sure.

739
00:36:06,045 --> 00:36:10,215
Or the ports that have to be put in
even to begin to develop these things.

740
00:36:10,815 --> 00:36:16,305
Um, and in putting those in, you're going
across really critical migration pathways.

741
00:36:16,395 --> 00:36:18,615
Um, tons of ous streams.

742
00:36:19,185 --> 00:36:19,365
Yeah.

743
00:36:19,365 --> 00:36:23,115
And the deep sea port in this case would
be going into what we just discovered in

744
00:36:23,115 --> 00:36:27,470
2023, I believe, is the winter foraging
grounds for cook and lip belugas.

745
00:36:28,140 --> 00:36:32,730
Um, So it is, it is right now,
right off of a national park.

746
00:36:32,730 --> 00:36:35,970
It is like this perfect
little quiet oasis.

747
00:36:36,330 --> 00:36:36,420
Mm-hmm.

748
00:36:36,810 --> 00:36:40,320
Um, where they can go and they can eat and
they can have their babies and be safe.

749
00:36:40,380 --> 00:36:43,260
Um, and putting a deep sea port
in there, just the installation

750
00:36:43,260 --> 00:36:46,200
of the court alone, the noise from
that would be really catastrophic.

751
00:36:46,860 --> 00:36:50,520
This is why I love talking to people
who live in the local community, because

752
00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:52,920
these are the stuff that we don't
realize when we, when we hear about

753
00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,100
mines, like the deep sea ports, like
same thing with what's going on with

754
00:36:56,100 --> 00:37:00,540
pipelines is like they have to go to a
deep sea port in BC because that's how

755
00:37:00,540 --> 00:37:02,640
we get the big ships and and out, right?

756
00:37:02,850 --> 00:37:06,065
And then we don't know what's being
affected by those areas already.

757
00:37:06,300 --> 00:37:09,330
And so this is why I love talking to
people like yourselves because you can.

758
00:37:09,765 --> 00:37:11,505
Make that enlightened for the audience.

759
00:37:11,505 --> 00:37:15,525
So when we talk about a mine, it's
not just a mine that like the physical

760
00:37:15,525 --> 00:37:16,785
aspect of putting the mine in.

761
00:37:16,785 --> 00:37:18,645
It's the roads that go in that are built.

762
00:37:18,645 --> 00:37:20,745
It's the habitat that's displaced.

763
00:37:20,745 --> 00:37:24,585
It's the, the deep sea ports that going
in the ha in the, and the animals that use

764
00:37:24,585 --> 00:37:26,445
that, as we just mentioned, the belugas.

765
00:37:26,445 --> 00:37:31,185
Are it important winter foraging
area like this all matters.

766
00:37:31,185 --> 00:37:35,745
When we, when we look at this and,
and I think, you know, going into oil

767
00:37:35,745 --> 00:37:40,635
and gas, uh, which we can talk about
now is, you know, we don't realize

768
00:37:40,635 --> 00:37:45,375
the setup and the infrastructure that
needs to be added into a place that is

769
00:37:45,375 --> 00:37:49,425
dominated by this beautiful wilderness
and that people have been living here

770
00:37:49,425 --> 00:37:55,335
and, and enjoying and, and, and living
under and with, uh, in unison for.

771
00:37:55,799 --> 00:37:57,420
You know, thousands of years.

772
00:37:57,450 --> 00:38:01,650
And so to have someone come up and just
be like, yeah, you know, someone in DC to

773
00:38:01,650 --> 00:38:06,360
be like, Hey, you know, we're like, Austin
is great, but the oil is better and we're

774
00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:09,509
gonna make so much money off the oil,
which we've probably heard the rhetoric.

775
00:38:09,509 --> 00:38:10,710
I'm not gonna mention who says that.

776
00:38:10,980 --> 00:38:15,450
And, you know, but not understanding
all the stuff that needs to be built

777
00:38:15,450 --> 00:38:17,880
around it and the history around it.

778
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,700
So let's, let's talk about, you
know, there's, there's a lot of

779
00:38:20,700 --> 00:38:25,290
history as you mentioned, Lauren, in
terms of, of oil and gas and LNG and

780
00:38:25,290 --> 00:38:28,259
everything like that within Alaska.

781
00:38:28,259 --> 00:38:34,410
Can you talk about how that history
has influenced life in and around Cook

782
00:38:34,410 --> 00:38:37,110
Inlet or even just Alaska in general?

783
00:38:40,500 --> 00:38:40,920
Yeah.

784
00:38:41,250 --> 00:38:42,900
Jamie, you looked like
you maybe wanted to.

785
00:38:43,590 --> 00:38:46,140
No, I'm, I'm think, I'm, I'm
thinking, I'm pulling ideas

786
00:38:46,140 --> 00:38:48,000
together, so, and like, uh, yeah.

787
00:38:48,299 --> 00:38:53,245
Uh, let me just taking, taking this
idea and putting this one here, um.

788
00:38:55,395 --> 00:38:55,634
Yeah.

789
00:38:55,634 --> 00:38:59,924
Lauren, I don't know if you had, if you,
if you wanted to, if you wanted to, to

790
00:38:59,924 --> 00:39:02,955
lead the charge or, um, or I can on that.

791
00:39:03,404 --> 00:39:06,435
Um, but yeah, I don't know.

792
00:39:06,585 --> 00:39:07,485
Do you have a strong feeling?

793
00:39:08,715 --> 00:39:13,545
No, I mean, I think it's, um, when
we're looking at specifically oil and

794
00:39:13,545 --> 00:39:15,705
gas, it's been a really mixed bag.

795
00:39:15,705 --> 00:39:19,665
And, um, one of the things we can
talk about is maybe the little bit

796
00:39:19,665 --> 00:39:23,115
of the dependency trap and SB 92
that we're looking at right now.

797
00:39:23,115 --> 00:39:23,205
Yeah.

798
00:39:23,715 --> 00:39:28,035
Um, you know, I think oil and
gas has this very lovely mystique

799
00:39:28,035 --> 00:39:30,134
of, it's going to bring in jobs
and it's going to bring in money.

800
00:39:30,134 --> 00:39:33,495
And we just know that that narrative has
changed, that it's just no longer true.

801
00:39:33,495 --> 00:39:34,605
It's very antiquated.

802
00:39:35,145 --> 00:39:37,875
Um, and it, you know, this is a lot.

803
00:39:37,875 --> 00:39:39,690
I am still learning, so
that's why I'm mm-hmm.

804
00:39:39,770 --> 00:39:40,410
Kind of like pausing.

805
00:39:40,570 --> 00:39:44,775
'cause I, you know, Alaskans are very
smart and very involved in their politics,

806
00:39:44,775 --> 00:39:46,125
And so I don't want to step on anybody's.

807
00:39:46,125 --> 00:39:47,250
So, but Understood.

808
00:39:47,535 --> 00:39:47,865
Understood.

809
00:39:47,865 --> 00:39:51,930
You know, uh, we.

810
00:39:53,265 --> 00:39:56,265
We used to, like, we have
this Alaska permanent fund.

811
00:39:56,354 --> 00:40:00,495
Um, And so oil and gas used to be
a big part of revenue for Alaska.

812
00:40:00,500 --> 00:40:00,609
Mm-hmm.

813
00:40:00,694 --> 00:40:02,654
And that has diminished more and more.

814
00:40:02,654 --> 00:40:05,475
And I'll let Jamie speak more
on the SB 92 stuff 'cause he,

815
00:40:05,475 --> 00:40:06,674
um, prepped for that better.

816
00:40:06,734 --> 00:40:10,395
But, uh, there are a lot of
loopholes right now that are

817
00:40:10,395 --> 00:40:15,254
allowing, uh, specifically Hillcorp
who's the only really invested,

818
00:40:15,404 --> 00:40:17,834
um, as far as offshore up here.

819
00:40:18,165 --> 00:40:18,194
Okay.

820
00:40:18,194 --> 00:40:22,995
To come in and drill and not
pay any income tax on it so that

821
00:40:22,995 --> 00:40:24,645
money is not staying in Alaska.

822
00:40:25,125 --> 00:40:25,575
Um.

823
00:40:25,980 --> 00:40:28,560
And it's been really detrimental
to our schools, to our roads,

824
00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:29,850
to our healthcare system.

825
00:40:29,940 --> 00:40:31,470
And I'm gonna be quiet now
and let you speak, Jamie.

826
00:40:32,460 --> 00:40:33,210
Well, yeah.

827
00:40:33,270 --> 00:40:35,759
Um, and I mean, yeah, Lauren,
Lauren basically did a,

828
00:40:35,759 --> 00:40:36,839
did a great summary of it.

829
00:40:36,839 --> 00:40:43,230
But, so I mean, obviously Alaska has, um,
a long and involved history with extracted

830
00:40:43,259 --> 00:40:46,109
industries including, uh, oil and gas.

831
00:40:46,109 --> 00:40:50,700
And, I mean, actually Cook Inlet
Keeper got its start after the Exxon

832
00:40:50,700 --> 00:40:57,600
Valdi disaster Um, So, you know, most
expensive, uh, oil spill in human history.

833
00:40:57,750 --> 00:40:57,839
Mm-hmm.

834
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:03,029
Um, and it happened in Prince William
Sound, uh, which was, I mean, on

835
00:41:03,029 --> 00:41:04,710
the map it looks next door to us.

836
00:41:04,740 --> 00:41:08,640
We were, we were getting oil up
here in, in, uh, in Cook Inlet.

837
00:41:08,790 --> 00:41:10,259
We're hundreds of miles away.

838
00:41:11,024 --> 00:41:11,115
Wow.

839
00:41:11,145 --> 00:41:14,924
Uh, for reference, and this was
a, it was absolutely massive.

840
00:41:15,254 --> 00:41:17,325
Um, and there have been
bigger ones, right.

841
00:41:17,504 --> 00:41:22,424
But this one was, was huge and in
this really beautiful area of Alaska.

842
00:41:22,785 --> 00:41:27,674
And, um, you know, it is, you know,
we, we have this, this really involved

843
00:41:27,674 --> 00:41:33,165
history with, uh, both that industry and
the dangers that are associated with it.

844
00:41:33,435 --> 00:41:38,565
I'd say one of the things recently, so
our, yeah, our state, obviously we, this,

845
00:41:38,595 --> 00:41:48,435
the state, you know, has a large sort
of financial, um, I, I guess, uh, stake

846
00:41:48,495 --> 00:41:52,305
in, um, in industries like oil and gas.

847
00:41:52,424 --> 00:41:56,774
And it has created, um, something
that is called the dependency

848
00:41:56,774 --> 00:41:58,455
trap, where we're, we're.

849
00:42:00,089 --> 00:42:04,319
Sort of forced into a situation
that is not ideal for us because we

850
00:42:04,319 --> 00:42:09,629
believe that we are sort of dependent
upon, um, this resource being

851
00:42:09,870 --> 00:42:11,939
extracted or used in a certain way.

852
00:42:12,299 --> 00:42:18,810
Um, So prior to 2018, uh, our oil
royalties and taxes were the vast

853
00:42:18,810 --> 00:42:21,180
majority of our state revenue.

854
00:42:21,509 --> 00:42:26,939
And but since then there's been the,
a combination of lower oil prices and

855
00:42:27,750 --> 00:42:34,379
uh, like tax giveaways that have really
changed, um, really changed the landscape.

856
00:42:34,649 --> 00:42:39,060
So like, so.

857
00:42:41,175 --> 00:42:45,555
Hillcorp is one of the biggest, for
instance, is one of the biggest oil and

858
00:42:45,555 --> 00:42:48,315
gas companies, uh, operating in Alaska.

859
00:42:48,615 --> 00:42:48,765
Yeah.

860
00:42:48,765 --> 00:42:50,475
And it's privately owned.

861
00:42:50,475 --> 00:42:53,955
So it's uh, what's called an S
corporation under US tax code.

862
00:42:54,195 --> 00:42:56,955
And that's in contrast to
like c corporations that are

863
00:42:56,955 --> 00:42:59,895
owned by stockholders who,
you know, trade ownership and

864
00:42:59,895 --> 00:43:01,335
charities, the public markets.

865
00:43:02,385 --> 00:43:03,825
Hillcorp is privately owned.

866
00:43:04,605 --> 00:43:11,265
Alaska has adopted these s-corp versus
C-Corp designations into its tax system,

867
00:43:11,505 --> 00:43:18,525
but it taxes s corporations, privately
owned corporations based on personal

868
00:43:18,525 --> 00:43:23,415
income tax, um, on the returns to their
owners rather than the, the corporates,

869
00:43:23,955 --> 00:43:26,535
like the total corporation income tax.

870
00:43:26,865 --> 00:43:32,865
Um, and Alaska doesn't
have personal income tax.

871
00:43:32,925 --> 00:43:38,895
And so that means because Hillcorp is,
Yeah, because Hillco is privately owned.

872
00:43:39,855 --> 00:43:45,134
Pretty much the vast majority of
their revenues aren't taxed at all.

873
00:43:45,435 --> 00:43:52,365
So basically they are allowed to go
in and in public waters and extract

874
00:43:52,365 --> 00:43:55,425
this public resource, um, for profit.

875
00:43:55,815 --> 00:43:59,085
But all of that profit, all of
those resources go straight out of

876
00:43:59,085 --> 00:44:04,935
the state, um, because we're not
actually able to, to, to tax them.

877
00:44:05,535 --> 00:44:09,225
Um, and you know, that's become a
political flashpoint in recent years.

878
00:44:09,225 --> 00:44:13,185
Some policy makers are advancing
a bill called SB 92, which is, uh,

879
00:44:13,185 --> 00:44:17,115
a senate bill in the alleged, in
the alleged Alaska legislature.

880
00:44:17,415 --> 00:44:21,315
Um, that's aimed at closing
that s corporation loophole.

881
00:44:21,645 --> 00:44:25,904
But they're getting a lot of
opposition by, uh, political opponents

882
00:44:25,904 --> 00:44:29,895
from one particular party, um,
who are saying that it's unfairly

883
00:44:29,895 --> 00:44:32,595
targeting oil companies like Hillco.

884
00:44:32,865 --> 00:44:38,115
And I don't know, to me that's kind of
nonsensical 'cause like, so like for.

885
00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:42,960
I am a small business owner, and
I do, like, I do stuff on the

886
00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:46,140
side and I have to pay taxes on.

887
00:44:46,140 --> 00:44:46,200
Yeah.

888
00:44:46,230 --> 00:44:49,560
I have to pay state income,
state tax on my small business.

889
00:44:49,830 --> 00:44:49,980
Yeah.

890
00:44:50,010 --> 00:44:54,630
And if I have to pay my fair share,
it is always just staggering to me

891
00:44:54,630 --> 00:45:00,300
that a mega corporation like Hillcorp,
um, doesn't have to, as they would

892
00:45:00,300 --> 00:45:03,120
have to in any other state in the us.

893
00:45:03,570 --> 00:45:10,200
Um, and also that people are
insisting that it's not fair to tax

894
00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:15,945
a company that size while, you know,
it's like, well, I'm, I'm paying.

895
00:45:16,225 --> 00:45:16,515
Yeah.

896
00:45:16,655 --> 00:45:17,715
I'm paying, what are they doing?

897
00:45:17,715 --> 00:45:17,995
You know?

898
00:45:18,025 --> 00:45:21,150
Well, and my, And so Yeah, my first,
my first thought of looking out,

899
00:45:21,150 --> 00:45:24,690
like looking in from outside is
like, they're doing this on purpose.

900
00:45:24,690 --> 00:45:27,390
Like they did this as, like,
they didn't, they, they probably

901
00:45:27,390 --> 00:45:29,490
incorporated as that knowing.

902
00:45:29,985 --> 00:45:32,145
Like in certain states that
they can get away with this.

903
00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:35,685
And, and this is what ticks me off is,
you know, like you said Lauren, at the

904
00:45:35,685 --> 00:45:40,395
beginning over this conversation about
oil and gas is the traditional selling

905
00:45:40,395 --> 00:45:44,145
point of like, hey, it brings in jobs,
it brings in, you know, money to the,

906
00:45:44,145 --> 00:45:46,335
to the state or money to the local area.

907
00:45:46,785 --> 00:45:48,015
That's just not true anymore.

908
00:45:48,015 --> 00:45:52,395
Because these co corporations will try
and get away with whatever they can

909
00:45:52,395 --> 00:45:56,715
to get whatever money they can and out
the state and going somewhere else.

910
00:45:56,715 --> 00:45:59,655
I don't know where Hill
is Hillcorp a US company?

911
00:45:59,715 --> 00:46:01,580
Is it a traditionally US company?

912
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:02,180
Mm-hmm.

913
00:46:02,260 --> 00:46:02,540
Yeah.

914
00:46:02,570 --> 00:46:02,860
Yeah.

915
00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:07,245
And so you're just like, it, it just
like, even just the fact that they don't

916
00:46:08,265 --> 00:46:11,685
do anything for the state, knowing that
they get a lot of their profits from the

917
00:46:11,685 --> 00:46:14,265
state, it's just, it bothers me to no end.

918
00:46:14,595 --> 00:46:15,255
You know what I mean?

919
00:46:15,255 --> 00:46:18,015
It's like that's the state that's
giving you everything, you know what

920
00:46:18,015 --> 00:46:22,095
you're doing to it in the long run and
you're not gonna give, uh, any money.

921
00:46:22,095 --> 00:46:23,325
So that, that's frustrating.

922
00:46:23,325 --> 00:46:25,425
How do like.

923
00:46:25,995 --> 00:46:30,075
Like Alaskans, look at that and,
and, and like how do they treat

924
00:46:30,075 --> 00:46:33,134
that company or even just look like,
what's their outlook on that company?

925
00:46:34,095 --> 00:46:38,234
Yeah, I mean, Hillco has
a awful, awful reputation.

926
00:46:38,295 --> 00:46:40,545
Um, well deserved, awful
reputation in the city.

927
00:46:40,935 --> 00:46:42,615
Been fined I believe 20 times.

928
00:46:42,615 --> 00:46:44,265
They were just fine in November.

929
00:46:44,745 --> 00:46:47,355
Um, they've had gas leaks before.

930
00:46:47,924 --> 00:46:51,375
Um, and they really are the only one,
you know, when we get into a little bit

931
00:46:51,375 --> 00:46:58,214
more specifics on the five-year plan, you
know, when we look at what has been leased

932
00:46:58,214 --> 00:47:00,225
in Alaska, it's mostly state waters.

933
00:47:00,674 --> 00:47:02,069
Um, and that's hillcorp.

934
00:47:02,069 --> 00:47:05,115
They have 137, I believe,
leases in state waters.

935
00:47:05,325 --> 00:47:09,225
They have some in federal waters
that are inactive, um, already.

936
00:47:09,915 --> 00:47:13,785
And we have, we being the communities.

937
00:47:14,325 --> 00:47:16,990
Of Cook Inlet have stood up
kind of time and time again.

938
00:47:17,089 --> 00:47:17,509
Mm-hmm.

939
00:47:17,589 --> 00:47:19,095
Um, it's been incredibly frustrating.

940
00:47:19,095 --> 00:47:21,705
You know, we were removed from
the ten five year plan, which

941
00:47:21,705 --> 00:47:23,205
was supposed to still be active.

942
00:47:23,234 --> 00:47:25,274
Um, it was supposed to start in 2024.

943
00:47:25,274 --> 00:47:29,415
And so, um, to have us be put back
in again after folks have already

944
00:47:29,415 --> 00:47:33,795
said, you know, we haven't, we have
great industries here that are all

945
00:47:33,915 --> 00:47:37,274
absolutely dependent on the health
and of our salmon and our clean water.

946
00:47:37,274 --> 00:47:42,915
You know, we have commercial fishing,
sport fishing, ecotourism, um, And then

947
00:47:42,915 --> 00:47:44,535
we, of course have our subsistence use.

948
00:47:44,535 --> 00:47:48,645
And so putting that at risk for an
industry to come in and do exploration

949
00:47:48,645 --> 00:47:53,265
work, which just the exploration
work alone is really detrimental.

950
00:47:53,265 --> 00:47:53,355
Mm-hmm.

951
00:47:54,075 --> 00:47:58,035
Um, it's not something that folks
here want, and I, it's been, I won't

952
00:47:58,035 --> 00:47:59,475
say it's been completely bipartisan.

953
00:47:59,475 --> 00:48:01,065
I think that wouldn't be
fair to say, but I think.

954
00:48:01,485 --> 00:48:04,695
In a large part, folks are in
agreement that, um, our salmon

955
00:48:04,695 --> 00:48:09,015
resources and our water resources are
much more valuable to us long term.

956
00:48:09,015 --> 00:48:10,155
Right, right.

957
00:48:10,155 --> 00:48:13,275
So that's been expressed in a number
of, on a number of different levels

958
00:48:13,275 --> 00:48:15,165
and number of, of different ways.

959
00:48:15,495 --> 00:48:19,095
Um, now you mentioned that there like,
you know, hill Corp is still doing

960
00:48:19,695 --> 00:48:23,055
some, some drilling and, and they're,
they're getting their, their money.

961
00:48:23,475 --> 00:48:28,125
Um, you mentioned there's some other
leasing, uh, things that are going on

962
00:48:28,125 --> 00:48:31,365
on top of like, so we we're, you know,
we're here to talk about the US oil

963
00:48:31,365 --> 00:48:34,875
and gas plan for, for the most part,
but there's other things that are

964
00:48:34,875 --> 00:48:37,005
happening before this got put together.

965
00:48:37,005 --> 00:48:40,185
Can you talk a little bit about,
uh, Lauren, a little bit about

966
00:48:40,185 --> 00:48:44,505
that, those, those leases and,
and how that's complicating

967
00:48:44,505 --> 00:48:45,825
just life in general And then.

968
00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:48,690
You know what, this US
plan adds onto that.

969
00:48:49,890 --> 00:48:50,910
Yeah, absolutely.

970
00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:54,390
Um, this is a little complicated,
so bear with me and tell me if I'm

971
00:48:54,390 --> 00:48:55,950
getting in the weeds, but No worries.

972
00:48:56,040 --> 00:48:58,500
Um, we are calling this
like the dirty dozen.

973
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:01,290
This is what we've been working on
since the end of last year when all of

974
00:49:01,290 --> 00:49:05,700
a sudden all these leasing authorities
opened up Um, so it kind of kicked off.

975
00:49:05,700 --> 00:49:10,530
There was in the, I believe it was the
ninth, um, OCS outer Continental shell

976
00:49:10,530 --> 00:49:15,540
plan, there was lease sale 2 58, um, which
Hillcorp did bid and they were awarded.

977
00:49:16,020 --> 00:49:21,270
Um, and we, after they did their initial
NEPA review, we took them to court, um,

978
00:49:21,390 --> 00:49:25,380
along with several other partners because
it was, they did the whole environmental

979
00:49:25,380 --> 00:49:26,910
impact review in like four months.

980
00:49:27,420 --> 00:49:30,810
Um, and it was just incomplete.

981
00:49:30,810 --> 00:49:33,000
So there was a lot of things that
we were like, yeah, you didn't

982
00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:34,260
consider this, this, this, or this.

983
00:49:34,495 --> 00:49:34,845
Right.

984
00:49:34,845 --> 00:49:37,020
Um, and the district court
agreed with us And so they

985
00:49:37,020 --> 00:49:38,760
ordered them to do another EIS.

986
00:49:38,820 --> 00:49:43,080
Um, typically when they do a
supplemental, EISB would've hosted.

987
00:49:43,455 --> 00:49:48,524
Public hearings, public comments, done a
full review, um, which was their intention

988
00:49:49,035 --> 00:49:54,524
until, uh, the Trump administration made
some changes to NEPA and kind of, um,

989
00:49:54,855 --> 00:49:56,504
made the language a little more cloudy.

990
00:49:56,504 --> 00:49:59,774
And then it was, we are not
having any public comments.

991
00:49:59,774 --> 00:50:01,334
It will be out by the end of the year.

992
00:50:01,754 --> 00:50:05,924
It's out, it's finalized till course's
back in Um, So that was the first one.

993
00:50:05,924 --> 00:50:07,334
So that was happening.

994
00:50:07,334 --> 00:50:13,365
And then, um, simultaneously, you know, we
had the five year plan that I mentioned,

995
00:50:13,365 --> 00:50:17,714
the 10th one that we had worked really
hard with coalitions across the nation

996
00:50:17,745 --> 00:50:22,725
to get cook and lit removed from, um, we
had Cook Inlet removed from that plan.

997
00:50:22,725 --> 00:50:26,774
We were not slated for any, And then it
was snuck into the big beautiful bill.

998
00:50:26,774 --> 00:50:33,645
So then we have six, um, mandated
by Congress lease sales that

999
00:50:33,645 --> 00:50:37,185
are gonna start in March Um,
So those are already happening.

1000
00:50:37,814 --> 00:50:41,504
Um, and because they're part of a
reconciliation bill, there's not a lot.

1001
00:50:41,504 --> 00:50:42,375
Mm-hmm.

1002
00:50:42,915 --> 00:50:44,685
Process that they need
to go through for those.

1003
00:50:44,745 --> 00:50:47,685
Um, though there's more process
than they're currently doing.

1004
00:50:47,685 --> 00:50:49,935
So that's all I'm allowed
to say on that one.

1005
00:50:49,935 --> 00:50:56,625
And then, um, And then we, you know, right
at Thanksgiving time we hear, here's your

1006
00:50:56,625 --> 00:51:00,285
new five year plan and cook and lit is
back on, and here's five potential more.

1007
00:51:00,285 --> 00:51:05,085
So that's six total, um, that are
all overlapping with a really just

1008
00:51:05,085 --> 00:51:09,165
a incredible lack of public process,
um, which is really astounding.

1009
00:51:09,165 --> 00:51:13,215
And I think no matter where you fall
on the issue, you should have a say.

1010
00:51:13,275 --> 00:51:13,665
Um.

1011
00:51:13,665 --> 00:51:13,995
Mm-hmm.

1012
00:51:14,565 --> 00:51:18,525
And, you know, we were talking earlier
like local expertise is not, it's

1013
00:51:18,525 --> 00:51:20,085
not just kind of like a box to check.

1014
00:51:20,085 --> 00:51:23,685
It really, it really is essential,
especially in a place like Glasgow,

1015
00:51:23,685 --> 00:51:27,915
we are so far removed from the people
who are making these decisions.

1016
00:51:28,395 --> 00:51:30,705
Um, and there's no way that they
could know some of these things.

1017
00:51:30,705 --> 00:51:35,085
They need to hear from the fishermen who
are out there, who know the tides, who

1018
00:51:35,085 --> 00:51:39,525
know the wind patterns, who know what
the reality of actually trying to do.

1019
00:51:39,525 --> 00:51:42,195
Any kind of development in
those areas is going to be.

1020
00:51:42,750 --> 00:51:47,339
Um, and they, the OCS does have a
public comment period, so we want folks

1021
00:51:47,339 --> 00:51:48,720
to get in there and comment on it.

1022
00:51:49,439 --> 00:51:52,859
They've made it this very short
period over the holidays that

1023
00:51:53,250 --> 00:51:54,779
we believe was intentional.

1024
00:51:55,140 --> 00:51:57,779
Um, and, you know, folks are tired.

1025
00:51:57,779 --> 00:52:00,959
Folks already commented on this
just a few years ago, right?

1026
00:52:01,049 --> 00:52:04,859
Um, So it's hard to go back and say, we
know you won, but you gotta do it again.

1027
00:52:04,859 --> 00:52:08,189
Um, but it did make a difference
that first time and it, it, they

1028
00:52:08,189 --> 00:52:09,479
do have to take it into account.

1029
00:52:09,479 --> 00:52:12,299
So it is really important that we
kind of keep beating that drum.

1030
00:52:12,899 --> 00:52:16,379
So you can still use the LA the two years
ago, the process as a little bit of this

1031
00:52:16,379 --> 00:52:20,700
process to say, Hey, you know, we beat
it once we can, we can beat it again.

1032
00:52:21,029 --> 00:52:21,120
Yeah.

1033
00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:24,959
And how have people reacted
to sort of that mind mindset?

1034
00:52:26,609 --> 00:52:30,359
Um, I would say the people in
our community are wonderful.

1035
00:52:30,419 --> 00:52:35,009
Um, Alaskans more than anywhere else
I've ever lived, people are involved.

1036
00:52:35,009 --> 00:52:38,884
Like, yeah, they want to know, they
wanna be part of the process and, uh.

1037
00:52:39,750 --> 00:52:42,120
You know, Jamie and I are newer
to Alaska and we're newer to this

1038
00:52:42,120 --> 00:52:47,009
organization, but we have folks here
who've been working on this for 30 years.

1039
00:52:47,460 --> 00:52:47,550
Yeah.

1040
00:52:47,580 --> 00:52:49,590
Um, and they're like,
alright, here we go again.

1041
00:52:49,590 --> 00:52:50,130
I'm ready.

1042
00:52:50,130 --> 00:52:51,750
Let me bust out the language.

1043
00:52:51,750 --> 00:52:53,850
So people are, people are ready.

1044
00:52:54,525 --> 00:52:55,245
Well, I think they're ready.

1045
00:52:55,245 --> 00:52:57,645
And they've also learned the
tricks, you know what I mean?

1046
00:52:57,645 --> 00:53:01,185
Through maybe some hard times
and some hard lessons learned.

1047
00:53:01,575 --> 00:53:03,884
Um, but they're, they're,
they know it's not gonna stop.

1048
00:53:03,884 --> 00:53:06,525
They know it's gonna keep coming and
they, they're like, they're resilient

1049
00:53:06,525 --> 00:53:08,115
in that way where it's like, okay.

1050
00:53:08,535 --> 00:53:11,295
And luckily they've had some success
in the past to be able to, to

1051
00:53:11,295 --> 00:53:13,395
build on, uh, to put this through.

1052
00:53:13,395 --> 00:53:16,965
And, and let's be honest too, like the
last Trump administration, they had very

1053
00:53:16,965 --> 00:53:21,015
similar, uh, you know, lease sale and
it didn't go through, or it never ended

1054
00:53:21,015 --> 00:53:22,575
up going through for whatever reason.

1055
00:53:22,905 --> 00:53:25,155
Um, hopefully that
happens again this time.

1056
00:53:25,425 --> 00:53:28,845
Um, we're starting to see a lot of
public, uh, participation in the deep

1057
00:53:28,845 --> 00:53:33,945
sea mining, uh, uh, you know, public
comment periods and, and things like that.

1058
00:53:34,185 --> 00:53:38,775
I assume we're gonna see the same thing,
uh, for, for this public comment period.

1059
00:53:39,165 --> 00:53:44,325
Um, oh, I assume you're, you're
expecting an overwhelming No from,

1060
00:53:44,325 --> 00:53:46,065
from the public comment period here.

1061
00:53:46,065 --> 00:53:50,085
And, and how are you as a,
as a organization and Jamie,

1062
00:53:50,085 --> 00:53:52,425
'cause the communications
director, maybe you can do it.

1063
00:53:52,425 --> 00:53:53,685
How are you sort of.

1064
00:53:54,195 --> 00:54:00,345
Um, guiding people to help do like sort of
the, have the, the biggest bang for their

1065
00:54:00,345 --> 00:54:05,085
buck in terms of putting it, putting the
public comments in and being effective.

1066
00:54:05,985 --> 00:54:07,005
Yeah, absolutely.

1067
00:54:07,005 --> 00:54:10,845
So we've made, um, we have a bunch of
resources that we're making available,

1068
00:54:10,845 --> 00:54:14,565
uh, for people to, to go to, to kind of
help guide them through this process.

1069
00:54:14,565 --> 00:54:23,025
So on our website, um, we have a, a page
that is actually dedicated, um, to, uh.

1070
00:54:23,730 --> 00:54:25,920
To oil and gas lease sales.

1071
00:54:26,100 --> 00:54:30,750
And on that page we've got, uh, like
talking points that people can use.

1072
00:54:31,020 --> 00:54:33,300
Uh, we've got the link to the actual
place where they're supposed to do,

1073
00:54:33,300 --> 00:54:35,250
where they can go to submit the comments.

1074
00:54:35,430 --> 00:54:37,440
And, um, in a couple of hours.

1075
00:54:37,440 --> 00:54:43,710
And at five 30 today we're gonna be
doing a online, like video training

1076
00:54:43,710 --> 00:54:46,890
session where we can kind of walk
people through the issue and how

1077
00:54:46,890 --> 00:54:48,210
to go about commenting on it.

1078
00:54:48,450 --> 00:54:52,200
And, uh, we're gonna record that
and put that up online as well.

1079
00:54:52,380 --> 00:54:56,700
So we're just trying to get as much
as we can out there for people, uh, to

1080
00:54:56,730 --> 00:55:01,110
both be aware that this is happening
and that, you know, this thing that's

1081
00:55:01,110 --> 00:55:04,950
happening over the, uh, holidays that
is trying to be stuck under their

1082
00:55:04,950 --> 00:55:06,990
nose is, is happening right now.

1083
00:55:06,990 --> 00:55:12,569
And they've gotta, they've gotta get
a comment in, um, by January 23rd.

1084
00:55:12,990 --> 00:55:15,630
Um, especially because,
you know, we've got.

1085
00:55:16,335 --> 00:55:20,865
Like Lauren said, we've got 12
lease sales, uh, either that

1086
00:55:20,865 --> 00:55:24,555
have either happened or are about
to happen in Cook Inlet alone.

1087
00:55:24,705 --> 00:55:29,595
And this is because of, you know, the
various loopholes that, uh, the, that

1088
00:55:29,654 --> 00:55:34,335
the federal government has been using to
get rid of, to constrain public comment.

1089
00:55:34,665 --> 00:55:38,205
This is potentially like
the only opportunity that

1090
00:55:38,205 --> 00:55:39,674
people are gonna get Yeah.

1091
00:55:39,674 --> 00:55:41,295
To actually make a public comment.

1092
00:55:41,295 --> 00:55:41,384
Right.

1093
00:55:41,654 --> 00:55:44,865
So it's like, okay, you get
one, we get one shot at this.

1094
00:55:44,865 --> 00:55:44,924
Yeah.

1095
00:55:45,134 --> 00:55:50,355
Um, So we're trying to really emphasize
online that you know, that this is

1096
00:55:51,075 --> 00:55:54,285
particularly important time and um, yeah.

1097
00:55:54,285 --> 00:55:57,765
And do people have to be like, people
who care for cooking that may not

1098
00:55:57,765 --> 00:56:00,855
live in Cook, like a person like
myself or someone else in the lower

1099
00:56:00,855 --> 00:56:04,035
48, they can still comment for Cook
Inlet, like, you know what I mean?

1100
00:56:04,035 --> 00:56:06,075
Like they can still mention
it in the public comment.

1101
00:56:06,285 --> 00:56:07,004
I'm just gonna add.

1102
00:56:07,755 --> 00:56:10,905
You know, as you, as, as, uh, you're
looking to answer that I'm gonna just

1103
00:56:10,905 --> 00:56:15,015
put up, uh, if you go to speak up
for blue.com, cook Inlet, it'll take

1104
00:56:15,015 --> 00:56:18,675
you, I'm gonna, uh, link to this page
with the, the what you mentioned,

1105
00:56:18,705 --> 00:56:23,475
um, Jamie, the, the oil and gas
lease page, um, on Cook Inlets web.

1106
00:56:23,535 --> 00:56:24,645
On Inlet Keeper's website.

1107
00:56:24,645 --> 00:56:25,905
'cause it's, it's phenomenal.

1108
00:56:25,905 --> 00:56:27,495
It gives you everything you need to know.

1109
00:56:27,705 --> 00:56:32,385
It has a timeline going back from, uh,
2017 to 2018 and a lot of like, sort

1110
00:56:32,385 --> 00:56:33,645
of the things that happened there.

1111
00:56:33,885 --> 00:56:35,415
Um, I think it's, I think it's fantastic.

1112
00:56:35,415 --> 00:56:37,005
So just, I just want to let people know.

1113
00:56:37,005 --> 00:56:41,775
So speak up for blue.com/ let's do inlet
Keeper, we'll do Inlet Keeper And then so

1114
00:56:41,775 --> 00:56:43,875
that you can go there to, to take a look.

1115
00:56:44,145 --> 00:56:47,385
Um, but you know, like, so people
from outside the lower 40 eights,

1116
00:56:47,385 --> 00:56:51,615
Lauren can actually answer, like,
can answer, put up public comment

1117
00:56:51,615 --> 00:56:55,485
And then put their, you know, say,
Hey, we love Alaska the way it is.

1118
00:56:55,515 --> 00:56:56,085
Leave it alone.

1119
00:56:56,205 --> 00:56:57,405
Like, don't, don't touch it, right?

1120
00:56:57,465 --> 00:56:58,425
Yeah, absolutely.

1121
00:56:58,425 --> 00:57:03,195
You know, these are, whether it's for
Alaska or anywhere, you know, all of these

1122
00:57:03,195 --> 00:57:05,235
coasts right across the nation are up.

1123
00:57:05,595 --> 00:57:06,015
Um.

1124
00:57:06,345 --> 00:57:09,405
And they're public waters,
they're waterways that we as

1125
00:57:09,405 --> 00:57:11,355
US citizens, they are ours.

1126
00:57:11,355 --> 00:57:16,725
And so, um, I, I really strongly
believe that it's a national resource.

1127
00:57:16,725 --> 00:57:21,435
Having these wild fisheries is gonna
be essential, um, for long-term

1128
00:57:21,435 --> 00:57:25,695
food security for, like, I just
can't even imagine a world where

1129
00:57:25,695 --> 00:57:26,985
we don't have our wild fisheries.

1130
00:57:27,015 --> 00:57:28,035
It breaks my heart.

1131
00:57:28,035 --> 00:57:32,805
And so, um, absolutely if you care about
fisheries, if you've visited, you know,

1132
00:57:32,865 --> 00:57:36,645
so many people come out and visit like
Lake Clark and Kamai and Homer and come

1133
00:57:36,645 --> 00:57:38,385
halibut fishing here if you've been here.

1134
00:57:38,715 --> 00:57:42,975
Um, and most of those folks actually
surprisingly do, because it really does

1135
00:57:42,975 --> 00:57:44,535
captivate you once you've been here once.

1136
00:57:45,765 --> 00:57:46,335
It's hard.

1137
00:57:46,335 --> 00:57:51,135
It's hard not to fall in love with it and
hard to imagine it not being here anymore.

1138
00:57:51,930 --> 00:57:54,315
And, and, you know, I think
throughout the episode, you, you

1139
00:57:54,315 --> 00:57:55,605
mentioned something really important.

1140
00:57:55,605 --> 00:57:58,905
It's oil and gas is not the
most important industry.

1141
00:57:59,295 --> 00:58:02,385
You know, within, like the
Cookland in Inlet area.

1142
00:58:02,715 --> 00:58:04,275
And I think that's a really
important thing to say.

1143
00:58:04,275 --> 00:58:08,205
I think a lot of, I think the
narrative, uh, from a, from a

1144
00:58:08,205 --> 00:58:10,185
federal perspective is that it is.

1145
00:58:10,185 --> 00:58:10,275
Mm-hmm.

1146
00:58:10,935 --> 00:58:14,925
Um, but like you said, it's, it's
the, it's the, the, the, the wild

1147
00:58:14,955 --> 00:58:18,885
in general, but also the fisheries
is such an important aspect and

1148
00:58:18,885 --> 00:58:23,595
it, it outweighs from a financial
perspective what oil and gas will give.

1149
00:58:23,595 --> 00:58:28,065
'cause right now, oil and gas is giving
jackal to ever to, to what, you know,

1150
00:58:28,065 --> 00:58:30,015
to the, to the, the people of Alaska.

1151
00:58:30,015 --> 00:58:34,935
And I think that's a, a, a big thing
to, to, to mention here because.

1152
00:58:35,669 --> 00:58:38,819
You know, that that just can't
happen where you don't, Ben, like the

1153
00:58:38,819 --> 00:58:42,629
local community doesn't benefit in
whatever way, whatever their biggest

1154
00:58:42,629 --> 00:58:46,529
stakeholder group is, that that
stakeholder group needs to benefit.

1155
00:58:46,529 --> 00:58:50,549
And it's, we know it's not oil and
gas and, And so I think that's a, a,

1156
00:58:50,549 --> 00:58:54,120
a major point to, to put like, in the
public comment, it's like, yeah, you

1157
00:58:54,149 --> 00:58:56,069
know, like, this is not important to us.

1158
00:58:56,069 --> 00:58:58,140
We care about fisheries,
we care about wildlife.

1159
00:58:58,169 --> 00:58:59,850
You know, that's what's important to us.

1160
00:58:59,850 --> 00:59:02,160
That's what brings in,
um, the money for us.

1161
00:59:02,160 --> 00:59:06,029
That's what bring, that's what
encapsulates us as a. As a

1162
00:59:06,029 --> 00:59:07,500
community, as a, as a state.

1163
00:59:07,560 --> 00:59:07,799
Right.

1164
00:59:07,799 --> 00:59:09,899
So I think that's,
that's really important.

1165
00:59:10,290 --> 00:59:10,740
Um, okay.

1166
00:59:10,740 --> 00:59:12,270
So I will let, let people know.

1167
00:59:12,359 --> 00:59:16,560
So speak up for blue.com/in inlet
keeper, you know, you can go there.

1168
00:59:16,560 --> 00:59:20,040
I'll put it in the, in the show
notes also, if you can, uh, Jamie.

1169
00:59:20,040 --> 00:59:24,270
And if once you've done that, uh, once
you've put up that, uh, webinar that

1170
00:59:24,299 --> 00:59:27,089
you're putting on, if you can send
the link, we'll put it in the show

1171
00:59:27,089 --> 00:59:30,240
notes as well so that by the time we
publish this episode, that'll be up.

1172
00:59:30,240 --> 00:59:32,609
So people can take a look too
to find out more what they can

1173
00:59:32,609 --> 00:59:34,410
do to put on the public comment.

1174
00:59:34,589 --> 00:59:35,970
Um, 'cause I think
that'll be really handy.

1175
00:59:35,970 --> 00:59:38,700
'cause it's not just writing
something, it's what you write to make.

1176
00:59:38,700 --> 00:59:42,689
So, so make use of this page that we, that
they put up, the link keeper put up and,

1177
00:59:42,689 --> 00:59:44,910
and, uh, it'll be, it'll be really great.

1178
00:59:45,180 --> 00:59:49,080
Um, you know, so I guess like in terms of,
um, is there anything else that you want

1179
00:59:49,080 --> 00:59:50,939
to cover that we haven't covered here?

1180
00:59:51,299 --> 00:59:54,569
Um, you know, where, where that,
that would be important for you

1181
00:59:54,569 --> 00:59:58,259
to get out so that people can,
um, you know, can take hold of.

1182
01:00:00,569 --> 01:00:04,350
Um, yeah, I think there's a, uh, certainly
the first thing that that comes to

1183
01:00:04,350 --> 01:00:10,290
mind for me is that, that like just
reinforcing the idea that everything

1184
01:00:10,290 --> 01:00:14,430
in this watershed is built on the
back of our fisheries and our salmon.

1185
01:00:14,549 --> 01:00:18,720
And that's true for both the people
and for the environment here.

1186
01:00:18,720 --> 01:00:21,359
So, you know, the bears
are reliant on the salmon.

1187
01:00:21,720 --> 01:00:24,930
Um, the salmon swim upstream
every year to spawn.

1188
01:00:24,930 --> 01:00:29,490
And then, you know, after they've
spawned they perish and all that

1189
01:00:29,490 --> 01:00:34,020
nitrogen from their bodies feeds into
the feeds into the forests up here.

1190
01:00:34,319 --> 01:00:38,370
Um, the trees are reliant on
and are built on salmon up here.

1191
01:00:38,580 --> 01:00:40,049
The birds are reliant on it.

1192
01:00:40,440 --> 01:00:46,380
Um, this place is this sort of last,
one of the, one of the last sort of

1193
01:00:46,380 --> 01:00:49,710
bastions of, of this sort of wilderness.

1194
01:00:49,770 --> 01:00:55,680
And not only is the ecosystem built
on salmon, but our economies are here.

1195
01:00:55,800 --> 01:00:55,890
Hmm.

1196
01:00:56,430 --> 01:01:00,930
And you know, between, between the,
uh, the, the millions of dollars

1197
01:01:00,930 --> 01:01:07,530
brought in just in this region alone in
tourism, ecotourism, bear viewing, uh,

1198
01:01:07,560 --> 01:01:13,590
charter fishing, commercial fishing,
um, you know, that all brings so much

1199
01:01:13,590 --> 01:01:19,560
more to the table then, uh, than an
oil, than than extractive processes

1200
01:01:19,560 --> 01:01:21,300
like oil drilling possibly could.

1201
01:01:21,300 --> 01:01:29,040
And yeah, the risk posed by, by oil
drilling in this area is immense.

1202
01:01:29,490 --> 01:01:35,760
Um, because, you know, each of these,
each of these lease sales that, that

1203
01:01:35,760 --> 01:01:42,270
happen, like the most recent one, lease
sale 2 58, there was a, they, they,

1204
01:01:42,330 --> 01:01:48,450
the, they did a model on it, on sort of
the, the risk of a major spill that was.

1205
01:01:49,049 --> 01:01:53,220
Associated with this particular lease sale
and they estimated that there was about

1206
01:01:53,220 --> 01:01:56,759
a 19% chance of a major spill happening.

1207
01:01:56,819 --> 01:02:01,319
So this is the kind of thing that would
be, you know, destructive across the

1208
01:02:01,319 --> 01:02:06,839
board and could, you know, choke out,
choke out our fish and also be just

1209
01:02:06,839 --> 01:02:12,720
immensely destructive to wildlife, both
in the, in the Ocean and also on land.

1210
01:02:13,620 --> 01:02:15,419
And that's just one lease sale.

1211
01:02:16,140 --> 01:02:20,549
When you start adding up the fact that
we already have a bunch of, when we have

1212
01:02:20,549 --> 01:02:26,970
a bunch of sort of extracted industries
further up the inlet plus each new lease

1213
01:02:26,970 --> 01:02:31,080
sale coming in, having its own risk
associated, that risk becomes additive.

1214
01:02:31,410 --> 01:02:34,080
So lease sale 2 58 is 20%.

1215
01:02:34,140 --> 01:02:38,939
When you add on the lease sale
before that, um, it becomes 40%.

1216
01:02:39,359 --> 01:02:45,480
And when you account for all of the
current leases that are already happening

1217
01:02:45,569 --> 01:02:48,299
in Cook Inlet, we're already hovering.

1218
01:02:48,825 --> 01:02:55,575
Well over 50% of a well over 50% chance of
a risk of a major oil spill in the area.

1219
01:02:55,875 --> 01:02:58,935
And that's before we start
adding even more to the region.

1220
01:02:59,565 --> 01:03:06,795
So, you know, when you think about what's
at stake here, um, the risk to this

1221
01:03:06,795 --> 01:03:13,455
place is so high and the probability
of a, of a major oil spill is so high.

1222
01:03:13,455 --> 01:03:19,005
And when you think about like, the value
of this place and how all of that could

1223
01:03:19,005 --> 01:03:23,865
disappear, you know, thinking about it
from a local standpoint, if you wanna

1224
01:03:23,865 --> 01:03:31,065
bet all of the beauty of this place
and your livelihood and like the local

1225
01:03:31,065 --> 01:03:36,734
economy and like your subsistence way
of life on a, like a poker hand that

1226
01:03:36,734 --> 01:03:42,165
you have a seven out of 10 chance of
losing, is it really worth the risk?

1227
01:03:42,194 --> 01:03:44,654
You know, um, it almost comes down.

1228
01:03:44,654 --> 01:03:46,484
It's not a matter of if,
it's a matter of when.

1229
01:03:47,310 --> 01:03:50,065
That's really what, that's, you
know, like that's absolutely

1230
01:03:50,065 --> 01:03:50,910
what we're talking about here.

1231
01:03:50,910 --> 01:03:55,260
I remember there was a quote from a, a, a
shell executive who says like, yeah, you

1232
01:03:55,260 --> 01:03:59,190
know, spills are part of business, but
that's, that's part of their business.

1233
01:03:59,190 --> 01:04:00,780
Not the business of the local people.

1234
01:04:00,780 --> 01:04:03,510
Not the business of the fishers,
not the business of, you know,

1235
01:04:03,510 --> 01:04:05,040
people who live off the land.

1236
01:04:05,130 --> 01:04:08,280
And, you know, just like, as you mentioned
at the beginning of the episode and, and

1237
01:04:08,280 --> 01:04:12,990
all the stuff that's affected afterwards,
you know, like you mentioned, salmon go

1238
01:04:12,990 --> 01:04:15,360
up and spawn up in the, in the headwaters.

1239
01:04:15,600 --> 01:04:17,130
They eventually, they will die.

1240
01:04:17,460 --> 01:04:19,890
They will, their nitrogen
goes into the forest.

1241
01:04:19,890 --> 01:04:21,150
The forest grow from that.

1242
01:04:21,180 --> 01:04:25,380
And it's just a, a regenerative
positive feedback that gets interrupted.

1243
01:04:25,590 --> 01:04:27,030
A lot of stuff goes to hell.

1244
01:04:27,330 --> 01:04:29,730
Like, let's, let's be honest here,
from a nature perspective, but

1245
01:04:29,730 --> 01:04:31,830
also from a human perspective.

1246
01:04:32,130 --> 01:04:35,820
And, and, and this, in these types
of environments like Alaska, they

1247
01:04:35,820 --> 01:04:38,520
cannot handle big changes like that.

1248
01:04:38,640 --> 01:04:42,600
And, and, and for people who come in
and just take money and bring it out

1249
01:04:42,600 --> 01:04:44,220
and don't even support the community.

1250
01:04:45,255 --> 01:04:47,505
I is, it is just like a,
it's a non-starter for me.

1251
01:04:47,805 --> 01:04:48,075
Right.

1252
01:04:48,075 --> 01:04:50,325
I think it's easy to say that
it's a, it's a non-starter.

1253
01:04:50,715 --> 01:04:54,345
Um, Lauren, just in terms of final
thoughts, uh, do you have anything,

1254
01:04:54,345 --> 01:04:56,205
you know, from, from in the key?

1255
01:04:56,205 --> 01:04:56,385
Right.

1256
01:04:56,390 --> 01:05:00,135
That's a, that's a big, big talking
point here, but, um, you know,

1257
01:05:00,135 --> 01:05:01,545
no, I, I'm jotting stuff down.

1258
01:05:01,545 --> 01:05:03,645
I'm, you know, I would love to
leave people with a little bit

1259
01:05:03,645 --> 01:05:07,395
of hope that, like their actions
really are gonna make a difference.

1260
01:05:07,455 --> 01:05:12,435
Um, I think this last year, I know many
of us felt just pummeled, you know,

1261
01:05:12,435 --> 01:05:16,005
whether it was from an environmental
or humanitarian, you know, so many

1262
01:05:16,005 --> 01:05:18,735
things have been happening in the
world and it can feel incredibly

1263
01:05:18,735 --> 01:05:22,755
overwhelming and like, um, like sitting
down to write a 10 minute email is

1264
01:05:22,755 --> 01:05:24,195
not gonna make much of a difference.

1265
01:05:24,495 --> 01:05:24,615
Right.

1266
01:05:24,825 --> 01:05:25,845
But it really does.

1267
01:05:25,905 --> 01:05:28,125
Um, and we've seen that
time and time again.

1268
01:05:28,125 --> 01:05:31,755
And so I really encourage
people, I, I understand it's

1269
01:05:31,755 --> 01:05:33,225
a very complicated narrative.

1270
01:05:33,675 --> 01:05:36,645
Um, even for us who are working
in it, we're like, okay, make sure

1271
01:05:36,645 --> 01:05:38,115
we're understanding the tax codes.

1272
01:05:38,115 --> 01:05:40,575
Make sure we're understanding
the implications of.

1273
01:05:41,190 --> 01:05:44,100
You know, this protection act
and now NEPA has changed and

1274
01:05:44,100 --> 01:05:45,210
it's changing very quickly.

1275
01:05:45,210 --> 01:05:47,310
And so we don't expect
anyone to be an expert.

1276
01:05:47,759 --> 01:05:47,850
Mm-hmm.

1277
01:05:48,180 --> 01:05:49,920
Um, unless you are an expert.

1278
01:05:49,920 --> 01:05:51,015
And then we really need hear, comment.

1279
01:05:51,154 --> 01:05:51,855
Yes, absolutely.

1280
01:05:51,855 --> 01:05:53,580
But what we also need is just the public.

1281
01:05:53,580 --> 01:05:58,259
I, the public needs to speak up that
this is a resource that is already

1282
01:05:58,560 --> 01:06:00,660
in use and is already important.

1283
01:06:00,720 --> 01:06:04,470
Um, And so personal stories
really, really do matter.

1284
01:06:04,950 --> 01:06:09,330
Um, and if you can take 10
minutes to write something, yeah.

1285
01:06:09,330 --> 01:06:10,290
It will make a difference.

1286
01:06:10,350 --> 01:06:11,970
Um, and lifetime of a difference.

1287
01:06:11,970 --> 01:06:13,200
Little bit about that Yeah.

1288
01:06:13,200 --> 01:06:13,210
Yeah.

1289
01:06:13,210 --> 01:06:15,029
For you, for future generations.

1290
01:06:15,330 --> 01:06:15,900
Absolutely.

1291
01:06:15,990 --> 01:06:16,259
Yeah.

1292
01:06:16,665 --> 01:06:19,245
For your kids, Lauren, for your
girls growing up in that area.

1293
01:06:19,245 --> 01:06:21,195
Yeah, my, my kids can still
go eat sea lettuce when we

1294
01:06:21,195 --> 01:06:22,125
go down to the beach, please.

1295
01:06:22,125 --> 01:06:23,660
Ready to comment?

1296
01:06:25,620 --> 01:06:25,940
Absolutely.

1297
01:06:26,160 --> 01:06:29,565
Uh, Lauren and Jamie, I can't thank
you enough for spending time with me

1298
01:06:29,565 --> 01:06:32,925
today and, and with us, you know, here
at How to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

1299
01:06:32,925 --> 01:06:35,925
Like the audience loves the
fact that we, we can hear from

1300
01:06:35,925 --> 01:06:37,515
people from all over the us.

1301
01:06:37,785 --> 01:06:39,525
And how they feel about this.

1302
01:06:39,735 --> 01:06:44,115
Uh, and, and you know, just to give it
context, to give, you know, from a local

1303
01:06:44,115 --> 01:06:49,635
context of like what's really important
to the people and how these, these major

1304
01:06:49,635 --> 01:06:53,415
plans that are put off, you know, that are
made by people who don't even live there

1305
01:06:53,415 --> 01:06:57,915
or maybe never have been there, never will
be there, uh, how it affects local people.

1306
01:06:57,915 --> 01:07:01,695
And I think that's, it's a, it's a
really big tell in terms of just not

1307
01:07:01,695 --> 01:07:05,655
understanding what's, what's local
and, and, and how important it is.

1308
01:07:05,655 --> 01:07:08,595
So I wanna thank you so much
for sharing all the information.

1309
01:07:08,805 --> 01:07:12,105
Love to have you back on to talk about
all the other wonderful work that

1310
01:07:12,105 --> 01:07:15,465
you guys do, um, because I think it's
really important and, and it was just

1311
01:07:15,465 --> 01:07:16,665
so much fun talking to both of you.

1312
01:07:16,665 --> 01:07:19,185
So I appreciate you
spending that time with me.

1313
01:07:19,845 --> 01:07:20,745
Thank you so much.

1314
01:07:20,745 --> 01:07:24,615
We really appreciate you and your
listeners and everyone who has a

1315
01:07:24,615 --> 01:07:26,265
stake in protecting our oceans.

1316
01:07:26,775 --> 01:07:27,405
Absolutely.

1317
01:07:27,885 --> 01:07:28,245
Thank you.

1318
01:07:28,845 --> 01:07:28,964
Yeah.

1319
01:07:28,964 --> 01:07:29,654
Thank you all.

1320
01:07:29,835 --> 01:07:30,645
Thank you, Lauren.

1321
01:07:30,645 --> 01:07:33,495
And thank you, Jamie, for joining
us on today's episode of the How

1322
01:07:33,495 --> 01:07:34,515
to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

1323
01:07:34,515 --> 01:07:36,855
This was Revelations like
I've never seen before.

1324
01:07:36,915 --> 01:07:38,444
It's not what I thought it would be.

1325
01:07:38,504 --> 01:07:41,835
A lot of times when we talk about oil and
gas moving into a coastline, especially

1326
01:07:41,835 --> 01:07:44,654
with the history that Alaska has had,
you don't expect somebody who's never

1327
01:07:44,654 --> 01:07:47,984
been to Alaska, and I've been to the
Northwest Territories And so forth, you

1328
01:07:47,984 --> 01:07:51,855
don't really understand how important
little things are there and how important

1329
01:07:51,855 --> 01:07:55,185
it's to the community and that oil and
gas may not be the biggest industry

1330
01:07:55,185 --> 01:07:56,984
that's benefiting that local community.

1331
01:07:57,105 --> 01:08:00,345
And in this case, that's what Jamie
and Lauren have said over and over

1332
01:08:00,345 --> 01:08:03,975
and over again is that the fishing is
what's the biggest financial impact

1333
01:08:03,975 --> 01:08:06,375
to the community, not only from
an environmental perspective, but

1334
01:08:06,375 --> 01:08:07,995
actually from a monetary perspective.

1335
01:08:08,055 --> 01:08:12,015
The oil and gas industry, the way it's
set up now is not benefiting the community

1336
01:08:12,015 --> 01:08:17,205
in any way other than the potential of
oil spills and what Jamie mentioned in

1337
01:08:17,205 --> 01:08:21,165
terms of the percentage of risk that
there is from an oil spill at 90%.

1338
01:08:21,404 --> 01:08:22,365
It's not a matter of.

1339
01:08:22,690 --> 01:08:26,290
If it's a matter of when, 90%
chance that there's gonna be an oil

1340
01:08:26,290 --> 01:08:31,210
spill that is going to affect this
inlet for decades, if not more.

1341
01:08:31,420 --> 01:08:35,710
It's not a matter of if, it's a
matter of when oil spills are gonna

1342
01:08:35,710 --> 01:08:39,580
happen in this area, and without
that, we're not gonna see a change.

1343
01:08:39,760 --> 01:08:43,029
We're not gonna see a benefit to this
community from a monetary perspective,

1344
01:08:43,029 --> 01:08:46,120
from an environmental perspective,
from a health perspective, we are going

1345
01:08:46,120 --> 01:08:47,800
to see a detriment to this community.

1346
01:08:47,920 --> 01:08:51,130
That's not said on the federal
level, on the overview level of

1347
01:08:51,130 --> 01:08:53,080
what they're saying in the press
conferences and things like this.

1348
01:08:53,200 --> 01:08:55,180
We have seen it time and time again.

1349
01:08:55,420 --> 01:08:57,700
We have seen it on the
coast of California.

1350
01:08:57,700 --> 01:09:00,100
We have seen it in the Gulf and
we've seen it here in Cook Inlet.

1351
01:09:00,760 --> 01:09:03,430
How many more interviews do I
have to do to just be tell us?

1352
01:09:03,430 --> 01:09:05,920
Everybody's like, Hey, this
isn't good for the people.

1353
01:09:06,250 --> 01:09:09,190
It's not good for the people,
not the way it was before.

1354
01:09:09,190 --> 01:09:13,300
If it was, and the long term hazards
are outweighing the benefits.

1355
01:09:13,860 --> 01:09:16,080
There are any, so keep that in mind.

1356
01:09:16,350 --> 01:09:19,890
Go to speak up for blue.com/inlet keeper.

1357
01:09:19,920 --> 01:09:23,340
They have a page there all about the
oil and gas lease sales, but also

1358
01:09:23,340 --> 01:09:26,130
in there, what's really important is
they have a five-year plan talking

1359
01:09:26,130 --> 01:09:29,190
points, and they have a link to submit
a comment about the five-year plan.

1360
01:09:29,340 --> 01:09:31,530
It's not just for the Cook
inlet, it's for all of the us.

1361
01:09:31,620 --> 01:09:37,200
1.4 billion acres of us is up for
grabs on leases that shouldn't happen.

1362
01:09:37,470 --> 01:09:41,670
And so make your comment, whether you're
a US citizen or a non-US citizen, if you

1363
01:09:41,670 --> 01:09:44,310
don't wanna see the environment go to
hell, then this is what we need to do.

1364
01:09:44,610 --> 01:09:48,840
We are way past the stage of needing
this amount of drilling, and we have

1365
01:09:48,840 --> 01:09:50,760
the ability for renewals to help.

1366
01:09:50,905 --> 01:09:54,630
And so this administration needs
to hear that And so they hear

1367
01:09:54,630 --> 01:09:56,070
it through you, the people.

1368
01:09:56,220 --> 01:09:58,560
So if you're listening to this and
you really believe in this, go to

1369
01:09:58,560 --> 01:10:02,610
speak up for blue.com/inlet keeper
and submit your comment today.

1370
01:10:02,955 --> 01:10:07,605
I'm gonna also link to the webinar of
a workshop that Jamie and Lauren and

1371
01:10:07,605 --> 01:10:09,525
the Cook Inlet Keepers are putting on.

1372
01:10:09,615 --> 01:10:11,115
I would love you if you wanna watch that.

1373
01:10:11,115 --> 01:10:14,025
You can watch that just to get a little
bit more involved and find out what you

1374
01:10:14,025 --> 01:10:16,815
can do for the most impactful public
comment that you can put together.

1375
01:10:16,934 --> 01:10:19,575
I want to thank Lauren and
Jamie for joining me today.

1376
01:10:19,665 --> 01:10:23,415
I wanna thank the inlet keeper at Cook
Inlet for all the work that they do and

1377
01:10:23,415 --> 01:10:26,474
all the people around there that live
there, and for spending time with me today

1378
01:10:26,474 --> 01:10:28,815
to talk to us and say, Hey, you know what?

1379
01:10:29,025 --> 01:10:30,915
This isn't a good idea and this is why.

1380
01:10:31,035 --> 01:10:32,235
So thank you so much for that.

1381
01:10:32,235 --> 01:10:34,844
If you have any questions or
comments, please leave it in

1382
01:10:34,905 --> 01:10:35,925
the comment section below.

1383
01:10:35,925 --> 01:10:36,509
If you're watching this on YouTube.

1384
01:10:36,875 --> 01:10:40,475
Or if you're listening to this on
your favorite audio podcast, you go

1385
01:10:40,475 --> 01:10:42,935
to speak up for blue.com/feedback.

1386
01:10:42,935 --> 01:10:45,425
You can leave a voicemail
or you can leave a comment.

1387
01:10:45,575 --> 01:10:47,015
I would love to hear what you have to say.

1388
01:10:47,015 --> 01:10:49,805
This is the beginning of a conversation
and I'd love to continue that

1389
01:10:49,805 --> 01:10:53,135
conversation with you, either on social
media, Instagram, how to protect the

1390
01:10:53,135 --> 01:10:54,995
Ocean, TikTok, speak up for blue.

1391
01:10:55,205 --> 01:10:55,640
All this.

1392
01:10:55,640 --> 01:10:56,105
We're everywhere.

1393
01:10:56,255 --> 01:10:56,915
We're just everywhere.

1394
01:10:56,945 --> 01:10:58,595
Just go to the website
speaker for blue.com.

1395
01:10:58,805 --> 01:11:01,205
I wanna thank you so much for
joining me on today's episode of the

1396
01:11:01,205 --> 01:11:02,465
How to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

1397
01:11:02,795 --> 01:11:05,645
I'm your host Angelo, and from the true
nor strong and free, have a great day.

1398
01:11:05,645 --> 01:11:08,045
We'll talk to you next
time and help conservation.