West Coast's Humpback Whales are About to Get Much-Needed Protection

[Bayard]

In a victory for humpback whales on the west coast, the federal government has agreed to establish critical habitat for vulnerable populations in an effort to protect them from ongoing threats they face.

The decision comes thanks to a settlement that was reached after conservation organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, sued the federal government earlier this year, arguing that it was failing to protect them from ship strikes, oil spills and entanglements in fishing gear as it’s required to do under the Endangered Species Act.

This should have been done when three populations who migrate along the west coast were protected as endangered and threatened in 2016. Instead, the Trump administration tried to open the door to allow even more oil and gas drilling in their habitat, which would have put this beloved species at increasing risk.

https://www.care2.com/causes/west-coasts-humpback-whales-are-about-to-get-much-needed-protection.html

Video at link.

[StarryNite]

1. Finally some good news.

Thank you for posting this.

[suffragette]

2. K&R

[Beringia]

3. Good

[Sticky]

4. A whale washed up behind my house in March

It's not the first time. We hike along the Bay of Fundy several times a week and often see dead seals but this is the second time we we've seen a dead humpback. We were given an advisory on what to do / what not to do if we discover them.
It's so very sad.