Posts Tagged ‘Dams’
What we can do to save Southern Resident orcas
We’ve been hearing from many of you that you’re heartbroken about the loss of a newborn calf in the critically endangered Southern Resident orca community – we are, too. It’s hard to put into words what it feels like to watch this tragedy unfold – sadness for the whales, angry at delayed action to save…
Read MoreDon’t Let Orcas Be Dammed: Klamath River moves towards Renewal
As part of WDC’s work to recover the critically endangered Southern Resident orcas and their main source of food – Chinook salmon, we support efforts to restore rivers and marine ecosystems on the West Coast. Rivers from Canada to California are home to the west’s famous salmon runs, and over 130 species in the region…
Read MoreSouthern Residents: turning talk into action
Even while we were busy absorbing information and networking at last month’s Society for Marine Mammalogy Biennial Conference, the world went on without us (shocking!) and a couple important news stories broke about the Southern Resident orcas. I did a quick read-through while we were at the conference, and have had more time this week…
Read MoreSouthern Resident orcas need Snake River salmon
The recent comment period for dam operations in the Columbia Basin, the focus of our #MigrationNation campaign, has officially closed, and nearly 400,000 voices across the nation and the world spoke up to demand fair consideration of dam removal on the Lower Snake River. The Columbia Basin was once the greatest salmon river in the…
Read More#MigrationNation – Hope for 2017
After a particularly difficult 2016, which included the loss of beloved matriarch Granny (J2), we are hopeful that 2017 will see some positive changes for the critically endangered Southern Resident orca population and some real progress towards their recovery. That recovery needs to start with addressing the top threat to the Southern Residents – prey…
Read MoreThe Southern Resident orcas are a unique community, but are we presiding over their journey to extinction?
In the United States, the first 100 days of a newly elected president’s term are thought to represent the new administration’s ability to reach their proposed targets. While largely symbolic rather than statutory, “the first 100 days” are closely watched by the media and their success measured by public approval ratings. It is with the…
Read MoreA Leader Lost: What's Next for the Southern Resident orcas?
Granny was a living legend, famous at home and across the world; a matriarch and guiding light for critically endangered Southern Resident orcas. Researchers knew Granny as J2, the leader of the Southern Resident orca community, but she has been missing for months and now, sadly, the Center for Whale Research (CWR) recently announced that…
Read MoreAnother Southern Resident orca found dead
The Center for Whale Research and Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirmed late last night that a dead orca found floating off the coast in British Columbia was 18-year-old J34, known as Double Stuf, a member of the critically endangered Southern Resident orca population. This loss marks the fourth adult orca to die, and…
Read More#MigrationNation – Now is the Time
For nearly two decades, national and regional conservation groups have gone to court to challenge plans from federal agencies regarding dam operations in the Columbia Basin. Five federal plans have been declared illegal by three different judges, because they failed to protect threatened and endangered Snake River salmon. This time is different. Why? On our…
Read More#MigrationNation – No Fish, No Blackfish
Research has shown that the survival of the Southern Resident orcas is closely linked to salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest of Canada and the US. We have established, earlier in this campaign and in previous efforts, that these orcas are incredibly dependent on salmon, especially Chinook – up to 80% of their diet. But…
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