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Join us for Orca Action Month
What’s going on for Orca Action Month?
June is Orca Action Month, and Oregon Shores will be celebrating all month long!
This year’s theme is Threads of Life: Connecting Orcas, People, and the Future We Share. As a proud member of the Orca-Salmon Alliance, we will be exploring and elevating how Southern Resident orcas connect us– geographically, culturally, ecologically and spiritually.
Orca Action Month is a month-long campaign that aims to bring awareness to Southern Resident orcas and these issues through outreach, events, and calls to action. We will be at the Oregon Coast Aquarium on June 8th and hosting a Protecting the Pod webinar on June 18th. Check out the full calendar of events here.
Oregon’s Orcas are imperiled
This distinct population of killer whales are fish eaters with a diet that is heavily reliant on salmon. These amazing marine mammals, which are the world’s largest species of dolphin, delight people living and visiting the Pacific Northwest. Sadly, this population is highly endangered and has been listed on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for over twenty years.
Despite a federal recovery plan from NOAA and dedicated efforts by so many partners throughout the Salish Sea, their population numbers are precariously hovering around 73 individuals according to the Center for Whale Research’s 2024 census. Among the threats Southern Resident orcas face are noise and disturbance in their environment, toxic contaminants in the marine food web, and above all else, depletion of salmon throughout their range.
Help us defend the ESA
Orca Action Month will draw on people’s connection, love, and respect for the Southern Resident orca to mobilize action to protect the Endangered Species Act (ESA) from being gutted and dismantled.
The Endangered Species Act is one of our nation’s most important, successful, and popular laws — it has prevented the extinction of 99% of the species under its care! Without it, beloved and iconic species like the Southern Resident orcas, Chinook salmon, green sea turtles, and manatees would be extinct–gone forever.
But now this landmark law faces grave attacks from Congress.
You can help us defend the ESA by signing our petition and telling your members of Congress: Protect imperiled ocean life by opposing any legislation that would weaken the Endangered Species Act.