Letter to the Editor: Join in Attending Killer Whale Recovery Meeting

— from Sharon Abreu —

Hi Folks –

There’s going to be a bus organized by the Friends of the San Juans from the Anacortes ferry terminal to the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Recovery and Task Force meeting at the Swinomish Casino and Lodge (12885 Casino Drive in Anacortes, off Hwy 20) on August 28.

The bus will leave the Anacortes ferry landing at 9:20 am on August 28, so anyone who wants to go from Orcas would need to be on the 7:35 am ferry to Anacortes.

The meeting runs from 10am – 5pm. So we would be on the 7:20 pm ferry back to Orcas.

There is no cost for riding the bus. But you will need to reserve a spot, which you can do by calling the Friends office at (360) 378-2319.

I’ll be going. If you want to carpool with me to the Orcas ferry landing from Olga or Eastsound the morning of August 28, let me know. Right now I only have one other confirmed passenger, and I can take 5 in my car. We’ll all be walking onto the ferry, so we don’t have to leave quite as early as if we were driving on, of course. (Yay!!!)

Gov. Inslee established the SRKW Recover and Task Force in the spring to determine the significant and immediate actions needed to protect and recover the SRKWs.

The Task Force is charged with preparing a comprehensive report and recommendations for recovering the SRKWs by October 1, 2018, and a final report by Nov. 1, 2018. The report should detail actions that will address all of the major threats to the SRKWs, including prey availability, toxic contaminants, and disturbance from noise and vessel traffic. A second report outlining the progress made, lessons learned, and outstanding needs will be completed by Oct. 1, 2019.

Public Comments: Please use this link to submit comments to the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force, or call: (360) 902-4111. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/srkwtfpubliccomment

I believe we need to push for the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams, which are making it much harder for the Chinook salmon (85% of the SRKW’s diet) to reach the Orca. Gov. Inslee’s Executive Order on protecting the SRKWs doesn’t mention this.

More actions to help our whales can be found at: www.sanjuans.org/action-center

P.S. Let’s all stop eating Chinook salmon until the SRKWs have enough in their bellies! 🐋