Tell the Biden Administration to Save Endangered Salmon and Southern Resident Orcas!
Dear John,
Your action is needed before August 31!
In 2005, the Southern Resident population of orcas, whose 75 current members inhabit the coastal waters of the US Pacific Northwest and Canada's Vancouver Island, was declared endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Now, despite nearly two decades of management by NOAA Fisheries, the Southern Residents remain alarmingly below the population growth goals outlined in their ESA Recovery Plan.
The single greatest threat to the survival and recovery of the Southern Residents is the rapid decline of their primary prey, chinook salmon, another species listed as endangered under the ESA. Across the Pacific Northwest, large dams such as the four along the lower Snake River (the largest tributary of the Columbia River) have led to a massive reduction in the size of salmon stocks by hindering passage to, and damaging and destroying, the salmon's spawning grounds.
Breaching these dams, in particular the lower Snake River dams, which are not essential to power production and have done the most damage to important chinook stocks, offers the best chance of population recovery for both the salmon and Southern Residents. The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is accepting public comments now through August 31 on wild salmon and native fish restoration.