Alaska director, Center for Biological Diversity. Working to protect Alaska and Arctic wildlands, oceans, and wildlife. https://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lptzn4mvfc2bThe Johnson Tract gold mine would devastate the only known winter feeding grounds for critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas, one of Alaska's great brown bear areas, the largest seabird nesting colony in Cook Inlet, and so much more. But they have to go through us. NO gold mines. bit.ly/3H7bQ9I https://bit.ly/3H7bQ9I23 May 2025 16:14 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lptzn4mvfc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lpp3oopwhc2xWe filed a lawsuit against a major Alaskan gold mine exploration project to protect the critically endangered Cook Inlet belugas and defend against acid mine drainage into Lake Clark National Park, Alaska Maritime National Refuge, and critical habitat for the beluga whales. bit.ly/3FkkMIo https://bit.ly/3FkkMIo21 May 2025 17:08 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lpp3oopwhc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lklnzuxrqc27Another desperate trip to Japan by AK state officials in search of the elusive investor for the $44 billion AK LNG pipeline that makes no financial or climate sense. A wise state would take this money and invest in renewable energy and public education, but that is not what we have. bit.ly/4hfkBLl https://bit.ly/4hfkBLl17 Mar 2025 17:20 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lklnzuxrqc27https://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lke3gevt322xMy current take on Alaska in the age of Trump II and our path towards "dewilding." bit.ly/3XSxHam https://bit.ly/3XSxHam14 Mar 2025 16:58 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lke3gevt322xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lipyknhoms2uThese kinds of local, artisanal businesses are the future of the Tongass, not going back to clearcutting old-growth trees for export. And they're mutually exclusive. The old-growth forests of the Tongass are the heart of the ecosystem and so important for mitigating climate change. [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Feb 2025 23:48 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lipyknhoms2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lhzbfonis22dLet's be clear, the Forest Service's Tongass Assessment is neither complete nor deep, and they have "studied" very little. It appears hastily thrown together with lots of outdated and incorrect info. It's far from an adequate scientific foundation for one of the planet's most important forests. [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Feb 2025 22:55 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhzbfonis22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lhm56cywzc2fGov. Dunleavy thinks Alaska's gas is "low carbon" 🤦 "...that gas has been recycled for almost 50 years on the North Slope. We know the content, we know the amount it's recycled back into the basin when that gas is then piped down through the pipeline — that carbon could be extracted from that gas."07 Feb 2025 17:35 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhm56cywzc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lhk4utfhas2xNOAA Fisheries observers in Alaska face regular harassment; women twice as often as men. This is unacceptable. Importantly, we rely on these observers to document bycatch of imperiled marine mammals and fish. Intimidation may not be unintentional. This system is broken. bit.ly/3CujVDL https://bit.ly/3CujVDL06 Feb 2025 22:24 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhk4utfhas2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lhjwkcdkr22vNOAA doing a job here trying to make its bottom trawl fisheries research look innocuous. Rather, bottom trawl research, especially year after year in the same location, can cause real damage, downgrading ecosystems and reducing biodiversity. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/gallery/2024-bottom-trawl-survey-photos?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery06 Feb 2025 20:31 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lhjwkcdkr22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lgenm5xfl22yThe dissonance between the reality of this headline and Trump's Alaska Executive Order aspiring to declare open season on oil and gas development in the state makes my head explode. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/weather/2025/01/22/new-orleans-has-received-twice-as-much-snow-as-anchorage-this-winter/23 Jan 2025 00:42 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lgenm5xfl22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lg7rz5nrv22kNot at all unexpected, but still surreal to see. It's an order to bring about an all out plunder upon Alaska. This is such a horrific vision for Alaska. It could spell the end for Alaska's caribou, salmon, polar bears, walrus, and so much more. We say NO. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/unleashing-alaskas-extraordinary-resource-potential/21 Jan 2025 02:18 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lg7rz5nrv22khttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lg7mdeilhs2mSo long (again) Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area (EO 13990), which among other important things, closed this critical marine region to the use of commercial trawl fishing gear that makes contact with the seafloor (i.e. "pelagic" pollock trawling and bottom trawling). bit.ly/4anXFrm https://bit.ly/4anXFrm21 Jan 2025 00:36 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lg7mdeilhs2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lfuyelxsi22xWe're hiring for an experienced attorney fired up to hold the line against the oncoming Trump onslaught up here in Alaska. Come join our team or share with your friends! biologicaldiversity.bamboohr.com/careers/111 https://biologicaldiversity.bamboohr.com/careers/11116 Jan 2025 19:13 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfuyelxsi22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lfogzz4vzs2eWhile Northern fur seals moms struggle to rear and nurse strong young pups on St. Paul island, their main food source, Alaskan pollock, is over-harvested and being bought up by taxpayer dollars to bail out the industry. Its annual catch was raised for 2025. https://alaskapublic.org/news/economy/2025-01-13/usda-buys-50m-worth-of-alaska-pollock14 Jan 2025 04:46 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfogzz4vzs2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lfd7mfwajs2yYesterday was a good day for the Arctic Refuge.09 Jan 2025 17:34 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfd7mfwajs2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lf66c4xetc23BREAKING: The Liberty Unit - the only offshore oil and gas leases fully in federal waters in the Arctic Ocean - is DEAD! It'd be impossible to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean. The bowhead whales, polar bears, and ice seals can sleep a little easier tonight. bit.ly/402Gffn https://bit.ly/402Gffn07 Jan 2025 17:27 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lf66c4xetc23https://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3leerv3kd522c"Astonishingly, the U.S. is the only Arctic coastal nation that still has no permanently protected Arctic Ocean waters. Russia, Canada, Norway and Greenland all have established permanent Arctic marine protected areas." Important op-ed from my friend Rick Steiner. https://thehill.com/opinion/5057647-biden-ocean-protection-failures/28 Dec 2024 15:09 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3leerv3kd522chttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lcnppn7iks2xThe desperation by the Dunleavy administration and his cronies to keep the impossible dream of an Alaska LNG pipeline alive is staggering. They're fossil fuel addicts, plain and simple, be damned the financial and ecological consequences to Alaska. bit.ly/4g08HW1 https://bit.ly/4g08HW106 Dec 2024 17:33 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcnppn7iks2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lcnoshucks2xTo cement her Alaska legacy, Sec. Haaland is ramming forward a proposed road through the world's largest eelgrass beds - critical to sequestering carbon, mitigating ocean acidification, and fueling up millions of migratory birds to and from the Arctic each year. Take action now to save Izembek.👇 [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 Dec 2024 17:17 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcnoshucks2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/cooperfreeman.bsky.social/post/3lclmbxabhk2n“Everything’s changing...The solution can’t be to drill more oil and pump more oil through the pipeline. It’s suicide.” https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/post/the-huge-new-oil-project-in-alaska-that-is-escaping-national-attention @oilandgaswatch.bsky.social05 Dec 2024 21:27 +0000at://did:plc:yphkcfqnrv7im62tsrtilgc3/app.bsky.feed.post/3lclmbxabhk2n