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Taryn Kiekow, Staff Attorney, Marine Mammal Protection Project, Santa Monica, California

Taryn Kiekow

At NRDC I work predominately on the issue of undersea noise pollution as well as to preserve key marine mammal species and their habitats. Prior to joining NRDC, I was litigation associate at a law firm in Washington, D.C. I also worked as a dolphin trainer in San Diego, California and Miami, Florida. While I loved the experience, I realized I wanted to do more to protect marine mammals. Working in NRDC's Marine Mammal Protection Group is the perfect fit!

Recent Posts

NRDC continues to fight for the survival of Alaska's Cook Inlet Belugas

Posted May 15, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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Cook Inlet beluga whales – they’re beautiful. Melodious.  Highly intelligent. And critically endangered.  There are only 284 of them left on the planet.  Yet the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently issued a permit that authorizes Apache Alaska Corporation to...continued

A Win for the Whales: Iceland Stops Fin Whaling

Posted May 8, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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Endangered fin whales may once again be spared from Iceland’s harpoons.  According to media reports, Iceland will suspend its fin whale hunt in 2012. Fin whales are the world’s second largest animal and are listed as an endangered species. This...continued

This Earth Day, Join Pierce Brosnan and Save a Gray Whale Nursery

Posted April 12, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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Laguna San Ignacio.  It’s a magical place off of Baja California, Mexico where every year hundreds of gray whales swim thousands of miles from their Arctic feeding grounds to mate, give birth, and nurse their calves.  I was lucky enough...continued

Spectacular rescue: Gray whale saved from fishing net off the California coast

Posted March 28, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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Co-written with Marine Mammals Program Assistant Lauren Packard A young California gray whale embarking on his very first migration from Baja, Mexico up to Alaska hit an unexpected snafu off the coast of southern California: he became entangled in a...continued

Japan cuts whaling season short at 70% below quota - a win for whales

Posted March 12, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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Co-written with Marine Mammals Program Assistant Lauren Packard Recent reports from the Japanese Fisheries Agency confirm that Japanese whaling ships have returned home from the Southern Ocean after catching 266 minke whales and 1 fin whale. Although the Japanese whalers...continued

The Magic of "the Friendly Gray Whale"

Posted March 1, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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I just returned from a magical place where gray whales still reign supreme. Imagine the sight of hundreds of whales dotting the ocean as far as the eye can see. Imagine the sound of hundreds of whales breathing on a...continued

When it Comes to Saving Whales, Who Doesn't Love a 'Miracle'?

Posted February 14, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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I just saw Big Miracle.  The movie -- based on the 1988 rescue effort to save gray whales trapped by ice in the Arctic --  tugged at my heartstrings.  I laughed.  I cried.  And I was reminded of why I...continued

Whale Wars: Are the Whales Winning?

Posted January 25, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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The phrase “whale wars” usually evokes images of doom and gloom for the whales: Japan hunting whales in the Southern Ocean – in a designated whale sanctuary, no less – with Sea Shepherd activists waving their pseudo-pirate flag in hot...continued

Putting a Price Tag on Whales Won't Save Them

Posted January 12, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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This week American scientists proposed a market-based approach to “saving” whales:  set tradable quotas for them.  Establishing a “cap and trade” market for whaling – while academically interesting – is a terrible idea.  It would legalize commercial whaling, which has...continued

Bad News for Belugas: Cook Inlet Population Plummeted 20 Percent in 2011

Posted January 10, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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Co-written with Marine Mammals Program Assistant Lauren Packard Today, NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center released its annual survey of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales—and the findings don’t bode well for belugas.  The 2011 population estimate is 284, almost 20 percent...continued

Pssst. It's the Holidays. Are you ready?

Posted December 14, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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If you’re like me, you wait to the very last second to buy gifts.  Luckily, NRDC has made it easy this year to buy environmentally friendly (and tax deductible) gifts with its Green Gifts. The holiday season is already in...continued

First Poll in Lower 48 Shows Strong Majority of Americans Oppose Pebble Mine

Posted December 6, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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For the first time, polling has been done on the Pebble Mine in the lower 48 states – and the news isn’t good for the project. A new poll reveals that a significant majority of Americans in the lower 48...continued

Cook Inlet Beluga Whales Score Major Victory

Posted November 21, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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The genetically unique population of Cook Inlet beluga whales breathed a collective sigh of relief today when a federal judge struck down attempts by the State of Alaska to challenge the 2008 ESA listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whale as an...continued

U.S. Censures Iceland for Killing Whales

Posted September 15, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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U.S. Imposes Diplomatic Sanctions against Iceland for Killing Whales President Obama took important steps today to sanction Iceland for its renegade whaling but should have gone further.  The President directed federal agencies to take actions to encourage Iceland to end...continued

Congress Weighs in Against Pebble Mine

Posted September 13, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

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Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) recently said that she would oppose development of Pebble Mine – one of the world’s largest mines – in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed should it potentially harm the world-famous salmon runs there.  In a letter sent...continued

About

Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.

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