$742,000 grant awarded to endangered Puget Sound orcas

OLYMPIA, Wash. — More than $1 million in conservation funding is coming to the Puget Sound to help the orcas.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced a $742,000 grant Wednesday, which guaranteed more than $1 million in matching contributions.

Southern Resident Killer Whales were listed as endangered in 2005. Today, there are just 74 left, the lowest number in more than 30 years.

“Our orcas are really sending us that message that things are not healthy,” said Orca Task Force co-chair Les Purce.

In all, $1.78 million in conservation funding will go to the killer whale population.

“It serves as a real catalyst for expanding the resources to help us begin the issues of habitat and hatcheries,” said Purce.

The grants support projects to increase the production, survival and size of salmon, the orcas' main food source.

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“Our Chinook salmon and other species of salmon are really trying to survive,” said Puget Sound Partnership Deputy Director Laura Blackmore. “The orcas really are starving, and they don’t have anything to eat.”

The money also funds fish hatchery projects, habitat restoration and solutions to the threats of pollution.

“Even though it’s going to be hard, it’s likely going to be expensive and it’s going to take a long time, there’s nothing more important to do,” said Blackmore.

The grants were awarded through the Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program, a partnership between NFWF, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., Shell Oil Company, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Fisheries.

These investments directly support recommendations in a September draft report from the Southern Resident Orca Task Force appointed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

Cox Media Group