Emergency

Help Protect Orca Whales

Help Protect Southern Resident Orcas!

With their population in jeopardy, southern resident orcas were finally added to the Endangered Species List in 2005 – since then, they’ve lost close to 10% of their population with fewer than 80 of these whales left in the wild. Now they struggle against pollution, marine noise, vessel traffic and a shortage of food.

Without a healthy population of Chinook salmon, it is doubtful that the southern resident orca population will ever recover.

Tell your Senators to take action before it’s too late!

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Dear Senator,

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As a Washingtonian who loves our southern resident orcas, I urge you to fight for the survival of this iconic species. Washington State would not be the same without orcas, and they need more food in order to survive. Southern resident orcas are distinct from other groups of orcas, because they feed exclusively on salmon which are in decline across the Pacific Northwest.

Although declining prey abundance has been identified as a major threat to southern resident orcas by the National Marine Fisheries Service, little has been done to address the shortage of salmon and provide orcas the food they need. Meanwhile, since southern resident orcas have come under federal protection in 2005, official orca numbers have dropped from 87 to 77 and are down significantly from a high count of 98 in 1995.

The mouth of the Columbia River is a critical hunting ground for southern resident orcas, and the salmon that are returning to rivers upstream are their prey. These watersheds offer the best opportunity for delivering the large numbers of salmon that southern resident orcas need to recover and thrive.

Most importantly, southern resident orcas and Chinook salmon populations are closely related. Where there are Chinook salmon, there are southern resident orcas. Following a return of over 1 million fall Chinook salmon in the Columbia and Snake River basins in 2014, at least five orca calves have been born since December with four surviving thus far. This astounding season of births follows a veritable drought of births and low runs in previous years. This relationship is incredible, and we need to take a cue from the orcas.

With the recent and unprecedented attacks on the Endangered Species Act, southern resident orcas need your help more than ever. The protections and guidance of a strong and intact Endangered Species Act is capable of restoring the balance between Chinook salmon and southern resident orcas, and it is the only hope left for a majestic species facing extinction.

Please help our iconic Pacific Northwest orcas and fight for healthy, functioning river habitat and a strong Endangered Species Act that will create more productive Columbia and Snake River runs for them to eat, so southern resident orcas can survive, reproduce, and raise baby orcas for years to come in their Pacific Northwest habitat.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]