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snini-9 · 4 years

Text

*Long sigh*

Alright guys. I’m here with an angry post about this. Please bear with me.

[x] This is a map of the Columbia Watershed. The Snake River is highlighted in yellow, the Columbia in blue.

[x] This is a map of the dams on the Columbia and the Snake. Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary are on the Columbia. Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite are on the Snake.

On February 6, 2021, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) proposed a " $33 billion infrastructure and community investment strategy that would breach the four lower Snake River dams and reorder much of the fish, energy and commodity transportation systems of the Pacific Northwest.”

[x]

Good news, right?

Yeah, it’s great news until you get to the part about the time frame.

“If turned into legislation, passed and implemented according to Simpson’s timeline, Lower Granite Dam would be breached in the summer of 2030 and the river that was swallowed by slackwater 55 years earlier would reemerge. The breaching of Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Ice Harbor dams would follow and the entire stretch of the river would return to its free-flowing state by 2031.“ That’s NINE YEARS. 9. N-I-N-E. The Southern Residents can barely find enough food now. There’s no way they’ll last 9 years and still be an even barely viable population (not that they’re a strong, viable population at the moment anyways).

Lets go over everyone who died from 2010-2020. 10 years, approximately how many years it will be for the river to be free flowing.

L41 (Mega) Male born 1977 to L11, declared missing January 28, 2020 (age 42)

L84 (Nyssa) Male born 1990 to L51, declared missing August 6, 2019 (age 29)

K25 (Scoter) Male born 1991 to K13, declared missing August 6, 2019 (age 28)

J17 (Princess Angeline) Female born 1977 to J5, her second calf, declared missing August 6, 2019 (age 42)

J50 (Scarlet) Female born December, 2014 to J16 (Slick), her fourth calf, declared missing Sept 13, 2018 (age 3)

L92 (Crewser) Male born 1995 to L60 (Rascal)(who washed up on outer WA coast May 2002 at age 30), declared missing June, 2018 (age 23)

J52 (Sonic) Male born late March, 2015 to J36 (Alki), declared missing Sept. 2017 (age 2)

K13 (Skagit) Female born est. 1972 (mother unknown), missing Winter, 2017 (age 45)

J2 (Granny) Female born approx. 1911, declared missing Jan. 2017 (age est. 105)

J34 (Doublestuf), Male born to J22 (Oreo), her first calf, born 1998, found deceased Dec. 20, 2016 (age 18)

J54 (Dipper) Male born to J28 (Polaris) in December, 2015, her second calf, missing Oct. 2016 (age 10 months)

J28 (Polaris) Female born to J17 (Princess Angeline) in 1993, her first calf, missing Oct. 2016 (age 23)

J14 (Samish) Female born 1974 to J12, missing August, 2016 (age 42)

L95 (Nigel) Male born 1996 to L43 (Jellyroll), found deceased March 30, 2016 (age 20)

J55 unk., born Jan., 2016 to either J14, J37 or J40, missing January 19, 2016 (newborn)

L27 (Ophelia) Female born 1965 (est.), mother unk., missing Summer, 2015 (age est. 50)

J32 (Rhapsody) Female born to J20, 1996; found deceased with fetus Dec. 4, 2014 (age 18)

L120 unk., born to L86, (Surprise!), her second calf, early Sept., 2014, missing Oct. 17, 2014 (age 1 mo.)

L53 (Lulu) Female born 1977 to L7 (Canuck), missing Summer, 2014 (age 37)

L100 (Indigo) Male born 2001 to L54 (Ino), missing Summer, 2014 (age 13)

J8 (Speiden) Female born est. 1933 to ?, missing Fall, 2013 (age est. 80)

L79 (Skana) Male born 1979 to L22 (Spirit), missing Summer, 2013 (age 34)

L26 (Baba) Female born est. 1956 to ?, missing Spring, 2013 (age est. 57)

L2 (Grace) Female born est. 1960 to ?, missing Fall, 2012 (age est. 52)

L78 (Gaia) Male born 1989 to L2 (Grace), missing Summer, 2012 (age 23)

K40 (Raggedy) Female born est. 1963 to suspected K18 (Kiska), missing Spring, 2012 (age est. 49)

L5 (Tanya) Female born est. 1964 to ?, missing Spring, 2012 (age est. 48)

L12 (Alexis) Female born est. 1933 to ?, missing Spring, 2012 (age est. 79)

J30 (Riptide) Male born to to J14 (Samish), missing 2012 (age 16)

Twenty-nine dead. Sixteen of these deaths were under the age of 40. Twelve were males, two were unknown genders, fifteen were females.

Now, lets look at the births that survived within that same time frame (2010-2020).

J58 (Crescent), Gender unknown, born to J41 (Eclipse), her second calf, September, 2020

J57 (Phoenix), Male, born to J35 (Tahlequah), her third calf, September, 2020

J56 (Tofino) Female, born to J31 (Tsuchi), her first calf, May, 2019

L124 (Whistle) Gender unknown, born to L77 (Matia), her third calf, January, 2019

L123 (Lazuli) Male born to L103 (Lapis), her first calf, November, 2015

J53 (Kiki) Female born to J17 (Princess Angeline), her fourth calf, October, 2015

L122 (Magic) Male born to L91 (Muncher), her first calf, September, 2015

L121 (Windsong) Male born to L94 (Calypso), her second calf, February, 2015

J51 (Nova) Male born to J41 (Eclipse), her first calf, February, 2015

J49 (Tilem l’nges) Male born to J37 (Hy'shqa), her first calf, August, 2012

L119 (Joy) Female born to L77 (Matia), her first calf, May, 2012

K44 (Ripple) Male born to K27 (Deadhead), her first calf, July, 2011

L118 (Jade) Female born to L55 (Nugget), her fourth calf, January, 2011

L117 (Keta) Male born to L54 (Ino), her second calf, December, 2010

L116 (Finn) Male born to L82 (Kasatka), her first calf, October, 2010

L115 (Mystic) Male born to L47 (Marina), her third calf, August, 2010

K43 (Saturna) Female born to K12 (Sequim), her third calf, February, 2010

J47 (Notch) Male born to J35 (Tahlequah), her first calf, January, 2010

Eighteen were born and survived (to this point when I’m posting this- February 10, 2021). Eleven are males, two are unknown genders, five are females.

Now, we’ve lost 15 females over the course of 10 years and have only gained FIVE in that same time period.

Now that we’ve looked at the births and deaths, lets look at the current living population, shall we?

J pod has 10 adult females, (2 post-reproductive); 3 young females; 2 adult males; 8 young males; 1 unknown gender.

K pod has 7 adult females (2 post-reproductive); 1 young female; 7 adult males; 2 young males.

L pod has 15 adult females (5 post-reproductive); 3 young females; 6 adult males; 9 young males; 1 unknown gender.

Total Males: 15 adult, 18 juvenile

Total Females: 23 reproductive, 9 post reproductive, 7 juvenile

Total Unknown Genders: 2

Now, that may seem like a good number of females, but we have to keep in mind that they need to produce healthy, living, viable, FEMALE calves to keep this population growing. While all calves are loved and cherished in this population, we need more females. This population is on a downhill trend that can NOT LAST NINE YEARS WITHOUT ENOUGH FOOD. “When the whales starve, their pregnancies fail. Southern Resident females used to give birth once every five years, just like females in other killer whale populations. But their average birth frequency has dropped to about once every ten years.“ [x]

For anyone who still might not be getting the picture, here. I have a picture for you. This is the population census that the Center for Whale Research updates on December 31 and July 1 each year.

[x] Do you see the trend? It’s falling. This population was decimated by the capture era (1960s-1970s) and is now continuing to struggle FIFTY YEARS LATER.

Another point: Reducing whale watching will NOT HELP. Whale watching companies help keep recreational boaters away from the whales and help inform them on the laws. They also report sightings and help keep population tabs. If a whale isn’t looking good, they can report that. If they didn’t see a whale for multiple encounters in a row and the CWR hasn’t been able to get out with them, they can let CWR know. This is a community effort, tracking and monitoring the SRKW. Whale Watch boats also ensure that, when Sound Watch (which mostly operates off the West side of San Juan Island) is not around, that local recreational boaters follow the Be Whale Wise guidelines and keep their distance from the Southern Residents.

“The Southern Residents pulled through the shooting era and pulled through the capture era, but if Ken is right, they will not pull through the conservation era. They are long-lived animals, so they will still be here—yet they will be gone...“We’re at the point—we’re past the point—of no return.”“ [x]

I appreciate Rep. Mike Simpson’s efforts to try to breach the Lower Snake River Dams, but the time to act is now. We are watching extinction happen before our very eyes. Breach the dams in 2021! NO FISH, NO BLACKFISH! “What will we lose if we let the Southern Residents go extinct?” “Our minds.” [x]

#no fish no blackfish #breach the dams #free the snake #breach the dams 2021 #free the snake river 2021 #southern resident killer whales #southern resident orcas #southern resident community #SRKW #we are watching extinction happen before our very eyes

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