Endangered Species Coalition 2016 Top 10 Report Nominating Form Deadline: September 12, 2017 General Information Nominating Organizations: Please use this Column to Provide the Requested Information 1 Organization & Web address Orca Network www.orcanetwork.org 2 Contact name Howard Garrett and Susan Berta 3 Address 485 Labella Vista Way Freeland, WA 98249 4 Email & phone [email protected], [email protected] 360 331-3543 5 Communications staff contact name (if different from above) 6 Email & phone Species Information 7 Common name, genus, and species Southern Resident orca, Orcinus orca 8 Geographic range Southeast Alaska to Central California 9 Conservation status Endangered in both the United States (2005) and Canada (2003). Designated as a ‘Species in the Spotlight’ by NOAA in 2015. 10 Remaining population size 77 individuals, including 24 in J Pod, 18 in K Pod, and 35 in L Pod. Report Questions 11 Can you provide high-resolution photos? Yes – we are provided with photos daily through our sightings network 12 If your species is selected, will you use the Yes - we educate the public about the important connection between Chinook salmon report to advocate for the species? and the Southern Resident orcas through our whale sightings reports, website, Facebook page, Langley Whale Center, speaking engagements, and educational booths at festivals. 13 5 free reports provided; additional copies = ~$2.60/each. If you’d like additional copies, how many (bulk orders may be cheaper)? Public Engagement Questions (Please explain why the species is interesting, why it matters, why decision-makers + the public should care.) 14 Provide background information, including  Southern Resident orcas, consisting of J, K and L Pods, are the most studied interesting facts, for the species profile. whales in the world. They are fish eaters and they cooperatively hunt and share prey. They differ from the transient, or Biggs, orcas genetically and culturally and the two populations have not interbred for more than 700,000 years.  Southern Residents are intelligent, sentient, long lived, and intensely social. Their life history strategies, language, and behaviors are a learned culture that is passed on for generations. Please cite any substantiating scientific studies  They have strong family ties and are matrilineal; both male and female offspring stay with their mother until they or she dies. Grandmothers or older females may assist new mothers with their calves and older male siblings or cousins may babysit one or more calves or juveniles, while the mothers take a break. 15 What is your organization’s most important The three key issues that are negatively affecting the SRKWs are decreased food lead message for the public about this availability, toxicity build-up over time, and increasing interference and noise from species’ decline to be included in the report? boat traffic. Of these three, lack of prey is the single most significant threat to the Southern Residents’ recovery but this decline can be reversed by appropriate human intervention. 16 Is your NGO saving the species? If yes, how? Orca Network provides the connection between the largest network of orca enthusiasts, professional naturalists, researchers, the public, federal and state agents tasked with recovering the species, and elected politicians by maintaining the most up-do-date sightings network on the whales in the Salish Sea. We are also a founding and active member of the Orca Salmon Alliance. In 2007 Orca Network conceived the idea of June being “Orca Month” to bring awareness to the plight of the Southern Residents; this June celebration has now spread to Oregon and BC Canada. 17 How can individuals help? Please be specific.  Engage in the political process through individual letters and calls to state and congressional representatives, as well as the President of the United States  Get involved with habitat restoration efforts such as tree plantings, stream clean-up, and restoration of salmon spawning and rearing habitats.  Make some simple lifestyle changes to benefit the environment, including water and electricity conservation and limited use of toxic products, plastics, and fossil fuels.  Refrain from buying farmed salmon and consider not eating Chinook salmon.  Engage in citizen science by reporting whale sightings to Orca Network.  When boating, be alert and watch for whales, be familiar with federal regulations for both US and Canada, and be respectful of the Be Whale Wise guidelines. Choose a whale watching company that has a reputation of following the laws and guidelines. 18 What action should the new administration The new administration should uphold and protect the Endangered Species Act, take to save the species? How can they continue to fund research on endangered species and promote actions that conserve accomplish this action? and recover habitats vital to endangered species recovery. Specifically, by following the best available science and removing the four lower Snake River dams, the administration would be recovering high quality riverine habitat once home to the Please cite any substantiating scientific studies Snake river Chinook salmon – historically the endangered Southern Resident’s most abundant and arguably most important food source throughout their entire range. Criteria-specific Questions Part 1 – Please answer N/A or “see above/below” if appropriate. 19 Detail the ecological importance of the The Southern Resident orcas are of great ecological and scientific importance when it species. Does it play a critical function in its comes to assessing the risks and impacts of environmental factors on human ecosystem? How does the ecosystem populations and also for other fish eating marine mammals such as seals and depend on this species (e.g., keystone porpoises. They are a keystone predator in the Salish Sea. Their dramatic decline predator, keystone pollinator, ecological provides a disturbing preview of the potential harm to all species in the region, engineer, refugia provider, etc.)? including humans. Quite simply, the salmon they eat are the salmon we eat; the toxins they ingest are the toxins we ingest. 20 Detail information on any social or economic The Southern Resident orcas are icons of the Pacific Northwest that inspire benefits the species provides—e.g., clean widespread public interest, curiosity, and awe around the globe. They hold particular water, recreation, medicine, etc. (Optional) cultural and spiritual significance for Northwest tribes who often feature them in art and legends. They are recognized for their value as a keystone species in the marine ecosystem, and their starring role in our region’s ecotourism industry. They add $65- 70 million to Washington State’s economy, through a successful whale watching and tourism industry. This includes passenger fees on boats, meals at local restaurants, patronage of local stores and staying in local hotels. For these reasons, losing the Southern Resident killer whales would be a crushing blow to the region’s economy. 21 Can the species be an ambassador for its Southern Resident orcas are key ambassadors for the threats facing orcas around the habitat or taxonomic group? If yes, detail. world, and our oceans in general. As a top level carnivore they are an indicator or ambassador species that can be used to communicate threats to the overall health of our shared ecosystem. The Southern Residents are charismatic animals that have the capacity to capture people’s attention and motivate them to undertake conservation measures. Judge’s Score for Importance of Species: 22 Describe the specific threat(s) to the species. NOAA has identified three main risk factors: What are the greatest impacts?  Prey availability – 95% of the Southern Resident diet is made up of different salmonid species (Ford & Ellis, 2006), with the vast majority being Chinook. Coast- wide, Chinook salmon numbers have experienced major declines over the last century due to factors such as dams, habitat degradation, hatcheries, and over- fishing.  Environmental Contaminants - Southern Resident orcas are among the most Please cite any substantiating scientific studies contaminated marine mammals on the planet, with extremely high levels of persistent organic pollutants such as DDT, PCBs, and PBDEs. Their diet of Chinook has been highlighted as their most likely source of exposure to these pollutants. (Garrett & Ross 2010). When they are starving they metabolize their blubber, releasing stored toxins into the bloodstream and causing immunotoxicity, reproductive malfunctions, and developmental defects. Transients, being marine mammal feeders, are one trophic level higher than the Southern Residents and thus have even higher contaminant levels, yet because they are getting enough to eat, they are impacted less by toxins than the Southern Residents and appear to be thriving and increasing in number.  Vessel effects and sound - Vessel effects on the whales are primarily acoustic, and range from potentially fatal impacts of Navy sonar testing to disruption in the whales' ability to navigate, forage, and communicate based on masking effects from vessels (Foote 2004). 23 If not described above, detail the current The Southern Residents are predicted to become extinct in the near future if the and projected decline of the species. status quo is maintained. Historic numbers for the Southern Residents are thought to have been between 150-200 whales. Following the live capture era there were only 71 remaining. In 2005, when the whales were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, there were 88 animals. Now, after being listed for 12 years, there are 77. Current recovery efforts are not working. Unless their prey base dramatically increases in the near future, they will not survive. 24 If not described above, detail the status of Critical habitat in the U.S. is currently designated as Haro Strait and waters around the the species’ habitat(s). What are the threats, San Juan Islands, Puget Sound, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. with proposed if any? Is there adequate connectivity? expansion along the Pacific Coast from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington to Point Reyes, California. In addition to a dramatic decline in salmon throughout this range, the other political/military threat that could exterminate the entire population, if the whales were all together, is military percussive/concussive activity which may have already been responsible for the death of L112 in 2012. 25 Describe the timing of the species’ threat(s). Given the fact that the population is continuing to decline 12 years after placement on Is it a current, eminent, or future threat? the Endangered Species List, there have been no surviving calves since December 2015, and the females are experiencing a miscarriage rate of almost 70%, the threat of extinction is imminent. Without immediate and serious action they will not survive. Judge’s Score for Severity and Extent of Threat:

Please cite any substantiating scientific studies KEY QUESTIONS FOR NOMINATION: Criteria-specific Questions Part 2 – Please answer N/A or “see above/below” if appropriate. 26 What does the science on this species Correct ESA decisions for Southern Residents included their listing in 2005 and indicate was the correct ESA decision? subsequent upholding of their endangered status following two 5-year reviews, and a petition by Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of California farmers to delist. 27 How was the science not followed? What In spite of the growing body of evidence that lack of food is the most limiting factor in was the ultimate decision that was made (or the recovery of Southern Resident orcas, salmon recovery efforts continue to fall not made)? short. NOAA Fisheries stated in its 2008 Recovery Plan for Southern Resident Killer Whales “perhaps the single greatest change in food availability for resident killer whales since the late 1800s has been the decline of salmon from the Columbia River basin’. Five Columbia River salmon recovery plans have been rejected in the courts and in 2016 Judge Simon ordered that the agencies prepare a new biological opinion and consider removal or breaching of the lower Snake River dams as an alternative. The science shows that Southern Resident orcas are reliant on Snake River salmon and that the Snake River dams are nonproductive and costly, yet Congress is still unwilling to take the necessary steps toward dam removal and Snake River salmon restoration. 28 Why was the science not followed? Indicate Many proponents of Snake River dam removal feel that engaging in open dialog with if there is an associated political threat from stakeholders such as farmers, local communities and tribes could potentially lead to industry groups, members of Congress, mutual understanding and agreement; however the voices of commercial interests and/or states. have led to lack of political will on behalf of Washington State’s elected officials. 29 What is the impact of the political meddling Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State has introduced in the decision on the species? What has legislation that if passed would keep in place the Federal Columbia River Biological occurred as a result of not following Opinion until 2022 and effectively block any action toward Snake River dam removal. scientific recommendations on the Without making strong steps toward recovery of Chinook salmon throughout its entire management of the species? range the Southern Resident orcas will continue to decline toward extinction. Judge’s Score for Severity of Political Interference: Judge’s Final Score

Please submit to [email protected] by September 12, 2017, and thank you for participating in the 2016 Top 10 Report.

Please cite any substantiating scientific studies