Acoustic Monitoring of Belugas in Eagle River, Cook Inlet

Due to the endangered status of Cook Inlet belugas (Delphinapterus leucas), there is a requirement to monitor their presence in the coastal portion of the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force) Knik Arm, upper Cook Inlet. In particular, due to proposed live firing into the Eagle River flats impact area, both the Eagle River and Eagle Bay are areas of conservation concern for the military.

This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of acoustically monitoring the presence of belugas in Eagle River. Beluga visits occurred in a specific period, from early August until November, when the instruments were retrieved. Belugas probably visited the river later in the year, but this pilot study was not designed to continue sampling in the presence of ice.