Subject:  Dang. Orcas of Puget Sound Fail to get Endangered Species Protection. |
Author:
The Veeckster
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Date Posted: 05:07:22 06/27/02 Thu
Author Host/IP: 67.24.225.48
This is bad news for the poor orcas.
Action Needed Now to Recover Orca Whales!
Tuesday, June 25, the Bush Administration failed to list the whales that frequent Puget Sound under the Endangered Species Act. But the state can take major steps to save orca whales, even if feds don't.
Governor Locke must hear loud and clear that even though the National Marine Fisheries Service has ducked the Endangered Species listing for Puget Sound's orcas, the goal is recovery, not only the listing.
The state holds many of the keys to orca recovery. Enforcement of clean water laws, prevention of oil spills, phasing out and cleaning up toxic chemicals, and restoring wild salmon habitat are all areas where the state can exercise leadership and make a huge difference for our whales.
Contact Governor Locke today with the following message: Orca recovery relies on your leadership. Please commit to a state strategy and budget to enforce our clean water laws, prevent oil spills, phase out and clean up toxic chemicals, and restore wild salmon habitat.
Governor Gary Locke can be reached at:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/govemail.htm
(you cannot email him directly, so this is the contact form)
(360) 902-4111
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504
Please send copies of email text to: Bob.Lohn@noaa.gov, Senator_Cantwell@cantwell.senate.gov, Senator_Murray@murray.senate.gov, Jay.Inslee@mail.house.gov, Rick.Larsen@mail.house.gov, Brian.Baird@mail.house.gov, Norm.Dicks@mail.house.gov, Jim.McDermott@mail.house.gov, Jennifer.Dunn@mail.house.gov, Adam.Smith@mail.house.gov
Background.
Last year the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) responded to a petition to list the Southern Resident Orca Whales on the Endangered Species list. After a year-long study, they announced today that although this whale population in danger of further depletion, these whales are not so significant and the science too unclear to warrant the title łEndangered Species.˛ While NMFS is pursuing more protection for our whales under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, those efforts must be supplemented with aggressive state action, including:
1. Enforcement of clean water laws. The state Department of Ecology is in charge of regulating water pollution, b ut enforcement is lax and discharges of persistent toxic chemicals, including PCBs, are actually allowed in state-issued permits. The state can rectify this situation by making sure water discharge permits phase out chemicals that adversely impact orca whales and the ecosystem upon which they rely.
2. Oil spill prevention. The state has already done a great deal to prevent oil spills, funding a rescue tug at Neah Bay during the winter months. The state should insist that our Congressional delegation fund the remainder of the year, or should move ahead with regulations to require the shipping
industry to supply tug coverage.
3. Phasing out and cleaning up toxic chemicals. The state has a new strategy to phase out toxics that donąt break down and build up in the food chain. This strategy must be fully funded and day-to-day permits, standards, and regulatory decisions must reflect the goal of ridding our state of these poisons.
4. Restoring wild salmon. The state must augment efforts to protect our shorelines from increasing development, and restore salmon habitat from the estuaries to head waters.
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