Orca Conservancy

Specialties

Orca Conservancy is an all-​volunteer 501©(3) Washington State non-​profit organization working on behalf of Orcinus orca, the killer whale, and protecting the wild places on which it depends.

Orca Conservancy collaborates with some of the world’s top research institutions and environmental groups to address the most critical issues now facing wild orcas.

The organization’s urgent attention is on the endangered Southern Resident orcas of Puget Sound. These three pods, J-​Pod, K-​Pod and L-​Pod, were decimated by the depletion of prey resources, the accumulation of marine toxins, and the destruction of salmon spawning and nearshore habitats, the nurseries of the Salish Sea.

They continue to reel from the effects of the brutal orca capture era of the 1960s and ‘70s, where some 57 whales were removed from the Southern and Northern Resident populations and sent to marine parks. They risk being wiped out by a catastrophic oil spill in the Salish Sea, or getting caught in the crossfire of military exercises. And they’re potentially threatened by vessels, particularly private boats not following guidelines established by the Pacific Whale Watch Association.

The organization’s people are leaders in safeguarding critical habitats, advocating creative oil-​spill prevention and response measures, establishing better protocols for the Navy to protect sensitive marine life, and in working with whale watchers and scientists to create effective new guidelines for wildlife encounters.

History

Established in 1996.

Founded on March 20,1996 as the Tokitae Foundation. The organization officially changed its name to Orca Conservancy on July 24, 2000.

Successful Petitioner and Litigant in historic U.S. District Court case to list Southern Resident orcas as «Endangered» under the U.S. Endangered Species Act — the first-​ever federal protection for the population.

Leader in the Springer Project, the first-​ever successful translocation and reintroduction of a wild killer whale, a rescue that captured the attention of the world.

Honored and acknowledged by National Marine Fisheries Service for its leadership in the Springer Project, both as Orca Conservancy and as founding member of a coalition of non-​profit organizations raising $ 266,000 USD toward the effort.