The federal government is being sued on behalf of five different conservation groups, who claim that the government has been dragging its feet over an Endangered Species Act listing. Last year the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed listing the Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered.

In April it was announced by NOAA Fisheries officials that a decision would be delayed for up to six months. Agency researchers said they require more time to prepare a 2008 population estimate. The delay comes after a 12 month listing determination period, in which the federal fisheries service published a proposed rule to list the whales back in April 2007.

To try and force an immediate decision, conservation groups on Monday sued in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Collectively the conservation groups include the Alaska Center for the Environment, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and two Homer-based organizations, Cook Inletkeeper and the North Gulf Oceanic Society.

The groups claim that the whales are genetically distinct and geographically isolated, and since the 1980s the whales numbers have seen a significant decrease, at which time federal scientist estimated their numbers to be roughly at 1,300. Current estimates put that number at 375.

Much of the groups' arguments center around a May 1 letter from the federal Marine Mammal Commission that concludes disagreement over the listing as being "not scientifically credible." Tim Ragen, the commission's executive director, signed the letter and stated that any further delay may increase the costs of recovery or eventual extinction.

The Cook Inlet is a 180-mile estuary to the west of the Kenai Peninsula, and branches into Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm around Anchorage at the inlet's northern end.