Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announces is budget and plans to save endangered Southern Resident killer whales. The 1.1 Billion dollar packaged surprised many, but take a closer look at where the money will be spent. Whitney and Monika will break down the major line items and how those choices may impact orcas. Inslee’s proposed budget will still need to go through the legislature and gain support from Washingtonians, but would it be money well spent for orcas? We were surprised to hear that nearly a third of this budget would go to culvert replacement. While important in it’s own right for many reasons, replacing culverts won’t be the most efficient action to help Chinook and therefore orcas. Plus, Inslee decided to include a whale watching moratorium and increase the approach distance from 200 yards to 400 yards. Monika also shares some of her recently published work with Orca Behavior Institute on transient killer whale predation on pinnipeds. Could future policies endanger the healthy population of transient killer whales in Puget Sound? Learn more!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS