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June is Orca Awareness Month!

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…

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New 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…

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Southern 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…

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New 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…

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Don’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…

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Southern 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…

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