Environment Washington delivers thousands of petitions to save our orcas

Orcas, specifically Southern Resident orcas are starving. Fewer than 80 remain today and the primary cause of their die off is a lack of their favorite food – Chinook salmon. In some places in the Pacific Northwest, salmon runs have declined by over 90% because dams are blocking their ability to make it to their spawning grounds at higher altitude. The four most problematic dams are located on the Lower Snake River and if we’re to save our orcas, we first need to save the salmon. 

That’s why Environment Washington has been going door to door this summer in the greater Seattle area to raise awareness for this campaign and build support for breaching the dams. In the past two months alone, we’ve spoken to around 10,000 Washingtonians and gathered over 4,000 petition signatures from concerned citizens who want to save our orcas.

Earlier this week, we delivered these petitions to Senator Murray’s office and had a great meeting with her staff. If we’re going to breach these dams, we’ll need to continuously show our elected officials that people in the Evergreen State value the lives of these beloved marine mammals more than four outdated, problematic dams on the Lower Snake River.

Join us in our fight to breach the dams, restore salmon runs and save our orcas.