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A half-dozen conservation organizations today plan to file a petition under a little-known state law seeking to have Cook Inlet beluga whales declared an endangered species. Conservation groups filed a request to have the whales listed as a federal endangered species this spring. The National Marine Fisheries Service has until next spring to make a decision on that request, but representatives for the groups said they decided to seek a state designation under Alaska's Endangered …

…of Cook Inlet belugas was prohibited last summer, and Native hunters are negotiating with NMFS to complete a co-management agreement that would limit annual harvests before hunting resumes. The petition was flown to Juneau on Monday night and should reach Rue's desk today, Sterne and Balliet said. Other petitioners include the Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alaska Wildlife Alliance, the National Audubon Society and the Center for Biological Diversity. ----------