Appendices. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beluga; Beluga whale; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.222.8492; http://209.112.168.2/protectedresources/whales/beluga/development/orpc/fireisland/may-novrpt2010.pdf

South-central Alaska’s Cook Inlet is home to some of the greatest tidal energy potential in the United States. It is also home to an endangered population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Successful permitting and operation of a tidal power project in Cook Inlet will require a rigorous biological assessment of the potential and realized effects of the sound footprint and physical presence of tidal turbines on the distribution, relative abundance, and behavior of Cook Inlet beluga whales. In 2009 and 2010 LGL Alaska Research Associates, Inc., sponsored by ORPC, conducted a study to visually monitor beluga whale presence, relative abundance, and behavior off of the north side of Fire Island, Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska. This report presents results from 2010. The study plan to survey for beluga whales in and near the proposed Deployment Area was developed by ORPC and reviewed by regulatory and resource agencies as part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) pre-consultation process. A copy of the approved study plan is included in Appendix A. Any modifications to the original plan due to logistical constraints were made after conversations with NMFS-Alaska Region, and are discussed in this report.