It’s Orca Action Month in the Pacific Northwest

In the Pacific Northwest, arguably no animal is more iconic than the orca. Just offshore of Oregon and Washington, these apex predators roam the waves and have done so for generations. In this region, the orcas which are most recently spotted are Southern Resident orcas, who primarily live and feed between the mouth of the Columbia River and around Puget Sound.

Sadly, there are only around 75 Southern Resident orcas alive today. Their population has declined over the past several decades and it’s been attributed to water pollution, vessel noise and traffic, and most significantly a lack of their primary food source – Chinook salmon. If we’re going to save these marine mammals we need to take action.

Last year, Gov. Kotek and Gov. Inslee issued proclamations declaring June 2024 as Orca Action Month. The proclamations’ intents are to build visibility and raise awareness about the issues plaguing Southern Resident orcas. It also provides us the opportunity to celebrate these marine marine mammals and realize that there’s more we could be doing to help them. Thankfully, Governor Kotek just issued another proclamation in Oregon declaring June 2025 as Orca Action Month.

Right now, the most impactful action we can take would be to restore their access to historic levels of Chinook salmon. In the Pacific Northwest, some salmon runs have declined by over 90% and the main culprit behind this are four problematic dams located along the Lower Snake River, which feeds into the Columbia River.

If we’re going to save our orcas, it’s clear that removing these dams should be an option that’s strongly considered. You can join us in our effort working to breach them.