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!
Posted January 25, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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→
Posted January 12, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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→
Posted January 10, 2012 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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 lower than last year’s estimate. The 2010 survey...continued→
Posted December 14, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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→
Posted December 6, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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→
Posted November 21, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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→
Posted September 15, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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→
Posted September 13, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
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→
Posted August 25, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
A new poll shows astonishing opposition to the Pebble Mine, with over 85% of commercial fishers in Bristol Bay opposing the mine. And the fishers are virtually unanimous – 98% – that the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska should be...continued→
Posted July 25, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Last night I had the honor of speaking at the Animal Rights 2011 National Conference about all of the tremendous work NRDC is doing to protect marine mammals. Passion filled the room – passion for animals and passion for activism. ...continued→
Posted July 20, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke made a strong statement today by declaring Iceland in defiance of the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) global ban on commercial whaling. So what does this formal certification mean exactly? Well – it’s a...continued→
Posted July 14, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
After a week of consensus and cooperation at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), today everything fell apart. The Commission was unable to decide whether to establish a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic, after Latin American countries...continued→
Posted June 10, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt recognized the grandeur and importance of Bristol Bay in a speech yesterday at the National Press Club, where he eloquently described Bristol Bay as “the passageway for the myriad salmon runs that travel...continued→
Posted April 8, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Today, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that Alaska’s Cook Inlet beluga whale habitat will be federally protected. The final rule designates more than 3,000 square miles of the Cook Inlet as critical habitat for the highly endangered Cook Inlet...continued→
Posted March 11, 2011 by Taryn Kiekow in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Last week, diplomats from 11 nations delivered a demarche –a diplomatic letter of protest – to Iceland’s government over its escalation in commercial whaling. The U.S.-led joint demarche expressed “strong opposition to Iceland’s continuing and increased commercial harvest of whales”...continued→
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