Bill would boost protections for states orca population
OLYMPIA — Washington’s orca whale population could receive legislative support, as a Senate committee considers a bill that would require the state to add greater protections for the marine mammals, which are on the U.S. endangered species list.
Senate Bill 6268, comes from Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, as part of his Salish Sea Protection package, which also includes bills that address oil spill prevention and salmon farms.
Ranker calls the bill the Orca Protection Act and said the impressive creatures have been an important part of his political career since the very beginning.
In 2009, before being sworn in for the first time as a senator, Ranker met with scientists and policy thinkers to come up with a plan to save the whales. The senator said the orca population in Puget Sound was down to 83, the lowest it had ever been.
Ranker said the scientists told him the population might not be sustainable and could die out, but the legislator from San Juan County was resolute in his response:
“Not on my watch; let’s do something about this.”
More than eight years later, the orca population here has fallen to 76, according to Penny Becker from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. Becker said the whales that are still around are in poor health and are struggling to raise their young.
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