Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit to Bring Researchers and Conservationists Together in Anchorage

Anchorage, Alaska — The second Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit will be held on Oct. 26 & 27 at the BP Energy Center in Anchorage. 

Hosted by Alaska Wildlife Alliance, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Defenders of Wildlife, Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Tikhatnu Intertribal Fish Commission, this free, two-day event will feature presentations and panel discussions on Cook Inlet water quality.

The summit aims to improve understanding of Cook Inlet’s waters and ecosystems, share water quality data for the benefit of people and wildlife, identify knowledge gaps, and foster future collaboration. 

“Cook Inlet is a rich, productive watershed, home to an array of incredible wildlife,” Nicole Schmitt, Executive Director of AWA, says. “Healthy waters are vital to healthy ecosystems, and this summit brings people together to better understand the challenges facing Cook Inlet, and identify opportunities to protect its waters for the benefit of both wildlife and the communities that depend on them.”

“Protecting the Cook Inlet requires innovation,” says CT Harry, Senior Manager of Ocean Campaigns at EIA US. “Not the kind that creates the environmental threats that we so often see in the inlet, but what comes from highly invested communities, organizations, scientists, and policymakers, collaborating with and learning from one another.”

Cook Inlet is Alaska’s most populated watershed and is home to a range of people, cultures and economic interests, as well as a diverse array of wildlife, including endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. The 2026 Cook Inlet Water Quality Summit will take place October 26 & 27 at the BP Energy Center, 1014 Energy Court, in Anchorage. Presentations include “Water Quality Risks of the Proposed Johnson Tract Mine” with Center for Biological Diversity, “From Knowledge to Action: Tribal Fish Habitat Restoration in Upper Cook Inlet” with Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, “What goes into Cook Inlet? Permitted Discharges, Water Quality, and the Wildlife that Depends on It” with Defenders of Wildlife, and many more. See the full agenda here.

The event is free; advance registration is encouraged due to limited space, though day-of registration will be accepted as capacity allows.

Event details and registration can be found at akwildlife.org/cook-inlet.

Media Contacts:
Chelsey Cook, Alaska Wildlife Alliance
[email protected]

Holly Koch, Environmental Investigation Agency US
[email protected]