by SCOTT RASMUSSEN, Journal of the San Juans
The amount of critical habitat afforded to the Southern Resident killer whales will grow by leaps and bounds, if the Center for Biological Diversity has its way.
The Center last week filed a formal petition with the National Marine
Fisheries Service to protect more critical habitat for the endangered Southern Resident population of killer whales. If successful, the proposal would extend Endangered Species Act protection to the whales’ winter foraging range off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California.
That’s roughly 700 miles of coastline earmarked for protection in the Center’s petition, and the boundary would extend about 76 miles out to sea, the Center’s senior attorney Sarah Uhlemann said.
Uhlemann notes that new research, including satellite tracking data from the first half of 2013 (see map, at right) reveals that the whales travel extensively along the West Coast during the winter and early spring, regularly congregating near coastal rivers to feed on migrating salmon. The Center’s petition seeks to protect these areas off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California as critical habitat. Read more at http://www.sanjuanjournal.com/news/241370911.html