Better salmon habitats help the recovery of Southern Resident Orcas, expert says

This coming Saturday, October 14, is Orca Recovery Day, a day of collective action to support the repopulation of the Salish Sea’s local small whale, the Southern Resident Orca.

Due to multiple threats to their existence, Southern Resident Orcas, also known as Southern Resident Killer Whales, now only number 75 as of July 2022, according to the Center for Whale Research. Orca Recovery Day is not only a celebration of the local icon but also a rallying call to get local communities involved with the recovery of the endangered orca.

Conservation Districts along Puget Sound are conducting around 40 activities across the state in the hopes of improving the living conditions of the Southern Resident Orca.  Here, Thurston Conservation District is partnering with the City of Olympia to host a volunteer event at Squaxin Park to remove non-native plants and replace them with Pacific Northwest trees and shrubs.

Jae Townsend, an education and outreach assistant for Thurston Conservation District, shared some words with The JOLT on why removing non-native vegetation helps the living conditions of orcas.

Threats to the existence of the South Resident include water contamination, noise pollution from vessels, and lack of food supply, which is primarily the Chinook salmon, according to Townsend.

The Chinook salmon shares the same fate with the Southern Residents in that their populations have been dwindling due to habitat loss and human activity. By improving the living conditions of the Chinook salmon, we thereby improve the food supply for the Southern Residents. As Townsend noted, “Orca Recovery Day is about the Southern Resident orcas, but it’s also largely about the salmon.”

Non-native plants, particularly those that are also invasive, could propagate at a pace that allows them to outcompete native plants easily.

Infamous offenders in the region include the English Ivy, which will be a primary target for the Squaxin Park activity. With such plants uncontrolled, the pace they spread could create unhealthy monoculture environments where nothing but these plants thrive.

“Without native biodiversity, our soil composition could change and fail to filter stormwater as effectively as well as lead to erosion issues. This could directly impact water quality and, by extension, salmon populations and the Southern Resident orcas,”  Townsend explained.

Removing non-native plant species could create the conditions of better food supply for the Southern Residents Simple as these actions may be, collectively the impact could lead to positive change, Townsend said.

First held in 2018, previous actions held at Orca Recovery Day helped restore 64 acres of stream habitat, collect 59,000 pounds of garbage, and plant 30,000 native plants.

Those eager to participate at Squaxin Park are advised to dress according to the weather and wear sturdy shoes and gloves, as well as bring pruners if available. The organizers will provide snacks and lunch.

Interested participants can register at this link or contact Jae Townsend at jtownsend@thurstoncd.com for any questions relating to Orca Recovery Day activities across the state. Community partners will be present at the event to answer questions relating to more volunteer opportunities.