Orcas? Still protected.

The National Oceanic and Atmpospheric Association announced this morning that the Northern Resident Orca population, which summers in the Puget Sound, will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act. The decision comes in response to a petition filed by Pacific Legal Foundation in August 2012, which argued that Pacific Northwest orcas were wrongly mandated as a subspecies, a designation that qualified them for special protection. The foundation was arguing on behalf of farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The farmers are restricted from using water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta because it provides habitat for one of the orcas' primary food sources — Chinook salmon.Puget Sound's orcas are distinct in that “they have their own language, own food source…they don't interbreed with other groups of killer whales,” says a spokesperson for NOAA. Phew. Now, if we can only get going on that 2008 killer whale recovery plan, the 82 orcas who call Puget Sound home may have a chance. Our first step? As of this morning, the Kitsap Sun reported the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department will hire an officer on a 3-year contract to enforce laws for protecting the whales.