350 Wenatchee Climate Conversations NCW

By now you’ve almost certainly seen the heartbreaking news about our Southern Resident orca whales. On July 24th, the newborn calf of the orca J35 lived only half an hour, and the mother has been carrying the dead calf with her for an unprecedented 16 days and counting. Her health is now in question. Another orca, J50, is emaciated, and biologists are working to help her survive.

Our Southern Resident orcas are in danger of extinction if we don’t act swiftly and boldly to address the three biggest threats to their survival: lack of Chinook salmon, toxic pollution in the environment, and vessel noise in their feeding areas. The health of the orcas is an indicator of the health of the entire Salish Sea. The solutions for this endangered population and for our waterways are not simple, but they’ve been clear for decades. Now is the time to call for action that goes beyond the status quo — to protect the whales and our shared waters.

Speak up to protect our resident orcas. Write to the Governor’s Task Force and call for bold, immediate action.

Puget Soundkeeper participated in the most recent meeting of the Governor’s Task Force on Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery, which took place August 7 in Wenatchee. It was an emotional day and it appears our leaders are beginning to listen. While the Task Force is carefully considering strategies to protect the orcas, there are stakeholders at the table that represent special interests trying to preserve the status quo and their bottom line. Your voice is essential to ensure lasting solutions are able to move forward. Please write to the Task Force today — you can use the talking points below, but your message is even more powerful if personalized. Feel free to add what orca protection and clean water mean to you.

It is especially important for the task force to hear from Soundkeeper members as the Task Force and public resource agencies consider important measures to reduce water pollution.

Please call for the following actions from the Task Force:

• Strengthen standards in water quality regulations and pollution discharge permits to address toxic pollution from sewage treatment plants, pulp and paper facilities, refineries, scrap metal facilities and industrial stormwater dischargers. The state must fully implement Washington’s new water quality standards for toxic chemicals like PCBs.
• Hold polluters accountable: The state is not doing its job to uphold existing laws, frequently giving polluters a pass to discharge dangerous contaminants to state waterways. We need stronger implementation and enforcement of existing water pollution laws like the Clean Water Act and State Water Pollution Control Act  to protect water quality and Chinook salmon.
• Expand public investment in green stormwater infrastructure grants to reduce polluted stormwater runoff, the number-one source of toxic pollution to Puget Sound.
• Greatly expand funding for Chinook habitat recovery including Puget Sound nearshore and riparian (stream) habitat. This is essential for recovering Chinook salmon and the forage fish that feed them.
• Stronger implementation of best practices on agricultural land and at animal feeding facilities to reduce water pollution and high summer stream temperatures that are lethal to salmon, particularly Chinook.

There are many valuable proposals on the table to help orca recovery, including dam removal and strategies to reduce vessel noise. As part of the Orca Salmon Alliance, Soundkeeper is working in collaboration with partner organizations focused on all issues impacting orcas and their prey. We encourage you to personalize your comments and emphasize what is most important to you.

Thank you for taking action,

Puget Soundkeeper