Posts Tagged ‘Southern Residents’
June is Orca Awareness Month!
Welcome to Orca Month! The third annual celebration for WDC and 12th overall focuses on sharing the story of the endangered Southern Resident orcas and inspiring people to take action to protect them. After the Southern Resident orcas were added to the endangered species list in 2005, longtime orca education and advocacy group Orca Network…
Read MoreNew guidelines introduced to reduce impacts to Southern Resident orcas
The recent Washington State Executive Order and initiation of the Southern Resident Recovery Task Force has already resulted some changes, with new guidelines for the upcoming summer season in the core summer habitat of the endangered Southern Resident orcas. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has announced a voluntary no-go zone for recreational…
Read MoreSouthern Resident orca recovery Task Force off to a hopeful start
With a mixture of hope, excitement, and nervousness, I tuned in on May 1st to watch the first meeting of the Governor-initiated Washington Task Force for Southern Resident orca recovery. Many of our colleagues in the Orca Salmon Alliance attended in person, but luckily the meeting was live-streamed so I didn’t have to make the…
Read MoreKinder Morgan stalls, but so does Canadian Government on orca recovery
In good news from Canada, Kinder Morgan has stopped all “non-essential production” of its Trans Mountain pipeline as the province of British Columbia and many First Nations continue to fight the proposal in court. The pipeline expansion would increase the number of oil tankers – by as many as 408 per year, a 700% increase…
Read MoreNew research on Southern Resident orcas highlights risks to population
Two recently published papers provide new information about the highly endangered Southern Resident orca population and threats to their survival and recovery. This unique community of orcas lives in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the U.S. and Canada, and is primarily threatened by prey depletion, pollution, and acoustic and physical disturbance. Previous research…
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 MoreWashington State's Lummi Tribe introduces new path to bring Tokitae home
A new angle is being explored in the ongoing effort to retire Tokitae (also called Lolita) and bring her back to her home waters in the Salish Sea. Held captive at the Miami Seaquarium since she was taken from the endangered orca population known as the Southern Resident community in 1970, Tokitae was given the…
Read MoreWashington Governor signs Executive Order for Southern Resident orca recovery
Orca and salmon advocates welcome Governor Inslee’s creation of an emergency orca task force A series of near-term actions and the establishment of an action-oriented task force in the executive order reflects the serious crisis facing the Southern Resident orcas and the urgent need for meaningful salmon restoration and other measures. SEATTLE – Leaders of…
Read MoreSouthern Resident orca critical habitat – where are we now?
In 2014, WDC supported a petition by our colleagues at the Center for Biological Diversity asking the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to expand critical habitat for the endangered Southern Resident orca community. Unfortunately, four years later, we’re still waiting for NMFS to take action to protect more of the Southern Residents’ home. The summer…
Read MoreCanadian government pushes pipeline while NGOs push for action to save Southern Resident orcas
In disappointing news from Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau is sticking by his decision to move ahead with the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline – a controversial and long-debated expansion that would triple the amount of tar sands oil being moved to the coast in British Columbia (BC), where the oil would be loaded onto tankers…
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