John,

Exciting news for Southern Resident killer whales: Following a Center lawsuit, the National Marine Fisheries Service has at last proposed protecting more than 15,000 square miles of coastal habitat in California, Oregon and Washington.

These protections could shield orcas from ship strikes, noise, industrial pollution, overfishing, oil spills and entanglement in fishing gear.

This is a hopeful moment for the orcas, and we need you to tell the feds to make the protections final.

There's no time to lose, though. After this summer's loss of three more orcas, the critically endangered population is down to just 73 whales.  

Act now to throw these beloved orcas a much-needed lifeline.