A food chain domino effect
The Southern Resident killer whales are on the brink of extinction with only 73 individuals remaining. These orcas rely heavily on chinook salmon for food, but habitat destruction, overfishing, and environmental changes have drastically reduced salmon populations, leading to malnutrition and increased mortality rates, said Stuart Ellis, a harvest management biologist with the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission.
While research shows there are hundreds of factors that are causing the decline of this population of killer whales, scientists say solving the problem of diminished food supply—recovering the once-abundant chinook salmon runs—is the key to turning this trend around.
“We’re talking about an international situation, because these fish also cross international borders.” said Dr. Deborah Giles, of the Columbia River chinook salmon that go all the way to Alaska before returning to their spawning grounds. Giles is Research Director at the nonprofit SeaDoc Society. “Fish born in Washington need to be protected all the way until they get back to their natal river in Washington.”
“While salmon need protection in the ocean, the rivers and their tributaries are at the beginning of this issue. Dams have impacted prey populations of salmon and have had negative impacts on river health where salmon migrate every year,” said Ellis. The four dams on the Lower Snake River produce a portion of the region’s power, but they also cause mortality of smolts migrating downstream and add to the difficulties for fish reaching their spawning grounds.
The population of Southern Resident killer whales peaked at 97 animals in 1996, and declined again to 79 in 2001. Despite 18 births since 2001, the population declined to 73 in 2025. Pollutants, noise, and diminishing food stocks are among the threats to blame for the mortality issues the whales are experiencing.
Salmon are spending less time in the ocean before returning to spawn, resulting in smaller fish, said Ellis.
“The orcas have access to other fish that are not in the same dire straits but it’s fair to say that their food supply continues to be in low abundance and that’s why we have taken some action,” Ellis said.
Threats to orca whales and salmon
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries plays a key role in Southern Resident conservation efforts. NOAA’s recovery plan focuses on increasing prey availability and minimizing human disturbances. “Columbia Basin salmon face a litany of challenges besides the hydro-system, including poor habitat conditions, increasing water temperatures, and lower summer stream flows. Predation by birds and non-native fish as well as sea lions are also an important problem.”
Giles has called for stronger protections against pollution, which not only harms salmon habitats but also leads to toxin accumulation in orcas. She studies orcas by gathering samples of feces. Many of the whales she studies carry dangerously high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other pollutants, which commonly come from industrial pollution in urban areas, weakening immune systems and reducing reproductive success, she said.
University of Washington Senior Research Scientist Jennifer Tennessen is using advanced technology, such as digital acoustic recording tags, to monitor orca behavior and assess the effects of food scarcity and noise pollution. These tools provide crucial data to shape conservation strategies.
“Research shows that vessel noise forces whales to alter their behavior, expending more energy while foraging. Human activity further exacerbates these issues,” Tennessen said.
Tennessen cited a program in Seattle called Quiet Sound, which encourages boaters to voluntarily slow their vessels to reduce noise for orcas from October to January when they spend time in the area.
“There’s two benefits there. One, you’re less likely to hit a whale when you’re going slower and two, acoustically, the sort of sound structure that your vessel produces isn’t as impactful. Slower vessels aren’t as loud as fast moving vessels,” Tennessen said.
More systemic policy changes and collaborative conservation initiatives are crucial to reversing the decline, Giles said.
“Tahlequah is the poster child showing us in a very visual way that they are not a healthy population,” Giles said, “and we are not doing enough to recover them.”
Kat Harttrup is a whale scientist and Senior in the UW Journalism and Public Interest Communication program who has primarily focused her writing on universal human rights.
Black Widow
Female black widows are the most toxic spiders in North America, with venom 15x stronger than a rattlesnake’s, as they have larger venom glands and longer fangs than widow males. The red hourglass on the underside of a female black widow sends a clear message of sexual reception – and of danger. They earned their name because females are known to eat their mates after copulation (otherwise known as girl dinner). But don’t worry – despite this gruesome reputation, most North American black widow males survive mating, as the only known black widow species that regularly cannibalize their mates resides in the Southern Hemisphere.
The female black widow is approximately 1.5 inches (38 millimeters) long, which is up to 20x larger than males. They are carnivorous, hanging upside down, awaiting prey, and using their “spidey senses” to detect vibrations in their silk-like webs. Once an intruder is trapped, they quickly weave glue-like webbing around their prey and inject them with venom, paralyzing them until later liquifying and eating them.
The reclusive male black widow is hardly ever seen by humans, and after mating, doesn’t stick around for parental duties even if he manages to get away with his life. The eggs are transferred into small sacs containing 200-250 eggs each, which female black widows are very protective of – and this is when they are at their most dangerous. They are capable of producing up to 20 sacs (4,000-5,000 eggs) in their lifetime. Although venomous, the black widow is not considered aggressive unless threatened.
Orcas
Unlike their popular name “killer whale” suggests, orcas are neither whales nor are they particularly aggressive toward humans. These playful giants of the sea are actually large, matriarchal, family-oriented dolphins that can be found in every ocean across the world! They’ve also recently become an internet sensation for sinking a number of boats off the coasts of Europe and Africa over the past few years – most likely as unintentional consequences of playful behavior among juveniles. Like most orca pods, several of the boat-sinking squads are led by mother and grandmother orcas – who apparently prefer to hang back and watch as their children ram into the boats. They’re not like regular moms, they’re cool moms.
Most orca pods are matrilineal, with mothers passing knowledge and leadership within the pod from mother to daughter. Orcas are also one of the only animal species known to experience menopause, which females reach when they turn about 50 years old – the same age that most males reach the end of their lives. But female orcas can continue living for several more decades, leaving them as the oldest and wisest individuals to lead a pod. In fact, it’s precisely because of the need for experienced leaders that orcas experience menopause at all.
Menopause only happens in tightly social and familial species, where passing on generational knowledge is more important than continuing to add to the population in old age. Orca calves are disciplined by their mothers, and older females are especially important in orca pods. One study even found that orcas with grandmothers, who can pass on knowledge about food sources, social behaviors, etcetera, are more likely to survive than those without. You go, granny!
Bison
Most people regard bison as a symbol of freedom and respect that is commanded by their seemingly subdued yet striking presence. Looking into their dark brown eyes (from a safe distance), you may find yourself in awe of how such majestic creatures could even exist.
Turns out, they behave just like many other herd-oriented animals. While females (cows) often travel in herds, males are relatively antisocial until mating season, where they will engage in violent competitions and rituals to win the attention of selective females for mating. They rarely ever fight to the death, but some fights include multiple participants to prove which bull is the strongest of them all.
In contrast, female bison tend to travel in maternal herd bands consisting of their young as well as other mothers and their calves. Within these bands, the dominant status of cows plays a pivotal role in the social structure and overall well-being of the group. These relationships are integral to the survival and cohesion of the herd, particularly when it comes to mother-daughter associations. Dominant cows – often older and more experienced, rather than particularly large or aggressive – assume leadership within these groups, guiding them to feeding areas, water sources, and away from threats.
Dominant cows are especially important to the defense of young against predators. When threatened, dominant cows position the calves in the center of the herd while they attempt to flee. If cornered or circled by pack hunters like wolves, the cows create a ring around the young. With horns pointed out, this tactic effectively creates an impenetrable shield made of 1,000-pound, armed and angry mothers. And you thought just one enraged mom could be scary!
Harris’s Hawk
Harris’s hawks are known as “wolves of the sky” due to their social nature and cooperative hunting behavior, exceptionally rare for birds of prey. Not only are female Harris’s hawks much larger than males, but groups of Harris’s hawks (sometimes called ‘casts’) are led by an alpha female – and to a lesser extent, her mate.
Interestingly, some alpha females select a “secondary alpha” female who, despite remaining subordinate to the primary alpha, is still dominant to all males in the group – including the alpha’s mate. Harris’s hawks mate in pairs or triads, with two male mates for one female, making for some hawkward family dynamics. Their “winged wolf pack” often raises the offspring of the alpha female collectively.
These hawks prey on rodents, birds, and lizards, and together they are capable of hunting larger animals such as jackrabbits, turkeys, and when assisted by falconers, even small deer. Because their desert habitat lacks perches, these talonted raptors will scout for prey using a tactic unique to them – by standing on each other’s shoulders (called “back-stacking”), forming a tower of up to 5 hawks!
The massive Gateway Pacific coal export terminal was designed to transport up to 54 million metric tons of mostly coal per year – threatening fishing and wildlife, including salmon and endangered orca. In its decision to deny the terminal, the Corps focused on concerns over historic fishing rights of the Lummi tribe. These rights would have been interfered with by major docks that would cover 144 acres of water and vessel traffic that would significantly increase interference with fishing. The denial also is a significant victory for wildlife like orcas.
Please join us in thanking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their decision: post a “thank you for protecting orca in Puget Sound by denying the Gateway Pacific coal export terminal” message on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Facebook page.
Win for Orcas
Win for OrcasCoal export terminals along the Pacific Northwest coast would devastate the aquatic food web that orcas depend on by increasing acid rain and mercury pollution from burning coal — harming the salmon that orca need for their survival. Additionally, the impacts from thousands of new cargo ships of coal pushing through the harbors and estuaries of Oregon and Washington will bring harm to orcas and their fragile marine habitats.
Today, fewer than 90 orcas live in Puget Sound. Known as Southern Resident Orcas, these cetaceans rely on salmon and other fish as their primary source of food.
Now five of six major proposed port projects in the storied waters of the Pacific Northwest have now been cancelled or denied. This means salmon and orca will not be threatened by the pollution and traffic these ports would have created. It means that ancestral fishing grounds will remain undisturbed. It means that coal will not be exported and burned, adding to global climate change that is threatening all wildlife. Salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest are in trouble as rivers run too warm and the cycle of snow melts change that make streams and rivers prime spawning habitat.
The denial of the Gateway Pacific Terminal Project was the result of years of unwavering opposition. The Lummi and other tribal nations, the National Wildlife Federation, anglers like those represented by NWF’s regional affiliate the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, recreational kayakers and boaters, and friends of wildlife across the country have consistently pointed out the threats to wildlife and cultural resources that are the lifeblood of the irreplaceable natural world in the Pacific Northwest.
Accounting for Costs of Coal
The Gateway Pacific Terminal project is just the latest of several coal projects that have been cancelled or denied. Tribes, conservationists, and communities are demanding that the massive impacts of the coal industry to wildlife, including decades long failures to reclaim habitat and waters stripped mined and laid barren, be considered and accounted.
It is not just coal export projects that have met resistance. Other cancelled coal projects include the Otter Creek mine, the largest proposed mine in the United States that would have also impacted local tribes as well as a choice wildlife area in eastern Montana, and the related Tongue River Railroad, which would have moved coal from mine to port threatening elk, mule deer and other wildlife along the way.
Like the Otter Creek mine, which was cancelled by recently bankrupt Arch Coal, the Gateway Pacific Terminal was largely backed by another bankrupt coal company, Peabody Energy. The shaky financial conditions of these companies makes it even more important that the high costs of these project be accounted. It is clear that bankrupt coal companies – which have historically failed to clean up their pollution – are unlikely to meet basic required environmental protection measures, whether at the mine or at the port.
A Better Energy Future for Wildlife
The denial of the port proposal was the result of communities asking for a better energy future and standing up for wildlife, native culture, public health, and our climate. These victories come from a deep desire to protect the land and water that sustains us, and a growing demand for responsible energy development.
We no longer need to accept decades or centuries long pollution and devastation of our land and waters. Instead, people are standing up for a clean, wildlife-friendly energy future that safeguards our rich wildlife and outdoor traditions.
Orcas
Orcas, commonly known as killer whales, can be found in every ocean on the planet. As the largest member of the dolphin family, they are smart and social creatures, usually traveling in pods. Within each pod, they establish complex social hierarchies — with females at the top.
As the oldest members in their pods, post-menopausal females have the most life experience. Scientists reason that younger orcas, especially males, tend to follow post-menopausal females, who are frequently their mothers, because the matriarchs have a wealth of survival and ecological knowledge to share. Photographs reveal that post-menopausal females typically swim at the front of their pods and direct the pods’ movements in a variety of scenarios, including hunting.
Elephants
At Amboseli National Park in Kenya, researchers have studied this matriarchal pattern. Groups following matriarchs tend to have higher calf survival during tough times such as drought because older females benefit from memories of where to find food and water. A matriarch’s experience may also help her group avoid predators and be better at social discrimination.
Lemurs
Hyenas
Have you seen any of these matriarchal groups in action? Share your favorite female wildlife leaders in the comments!
The spill seeped into every facet of the ecosystem, attacking animals from both the inside and out. Though it was initially thought that the oil spill would only have a short term impact on the ecosystem, its effects continue to be felt to this day.
As Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation puts it, “The impacts of oil spills continue long after the TV cameras have gone home. It is still possible to find oil on the shores of Prince William Sound that is nearly as toxic as it was a quarter-century ago.”
All of this raises the question of just how far the oily tide has receded. The recovery effort has produced some decidedly mixed results among some of North America’s most iconic creatures:
1. Pacific Herring
Hallmark of the fishing industry, the herring of Prince William Sound remain badly damaged by the spill. In 1993 the population collapsed, and it has not recovered since. Even the reason for their low numbers remains badly understood, and it’s not certain whether the herring will ever rebound.
2. Killer Whales
Two pods of killer whale call Prince William Sound home. Both were hit hard by Exxon Valdez, and many mature orcas died in the following years. Slow to reproduce under normal circumstances, these losses have been hard to replace. One population that dwells in the Sound through the year has been slowly growing in number. Sadly the other more mobile pod still shows no signs of recovering.
3. Bald Eagles
One of the major successes thus far has been the bald eagle. In spite of their losses, by 1995 the eagle’s population had rebounded to pre spill levels.
4. Harbor Seals
The harbor seals of Prince William Sound had been struggling with declining prey before Exxon Valdez, but the resident population has since recovered. By 2005 the seal’s numbers were growing again, and the species is considered on the mend.
5. Sea Otters
The most recently recovered species, the numbers and quality of life for sea otters in the Sound finally returned to normal within the past year. In addition to the dangers of swimming through the oil, the sea otters suffered internal damage when they consumed oil tainted clams and other prey. Fortunately oil levels in these species dropped to a “safer” level for the otters.
Four years after Deepwater Horizon and 25 years after Exxon Valdez, it is time we commemorate these disasters by taking a step away from oil and other fossil fuels. We need to invest in a cleaner, greener future for energy if we want to ever break this cycle of ecological destruction and cleanup.
Take action and ensure that animal habitat damaged by oil spills is restored!
Breaking Through on Climate Change
Answering the call of wildlife advocates and the hundreds of thousands of messages coordinated by NWF and our partners, the White House released a bold new plan to address climate change. The plan directs the Environmental Protection Agency to take actions that would require reducing carbon pollution from power plants. It comes not a minute too soon for polar bears, moose and other species at-risk from the effects of our changing climate.
Bad Bison Bills Defeated
NWF supporters, concerned sportsmen and other like-minded conservation groups across the country joined forces to defeat a barrage of anti-bison bills sponsored by Montana lawmakers. The bills would have blocked efforts to return wild bison to their native habitat. This victory accompanied continued progress in restoring the species, including the release of 34 bison on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.
Partner Drops Out of Dangerous Alaska Pebble Mine Project
After years of hard work , we saw a major victory in the fight to stop a massive mine proposed for Bristol Bay, Alaska. Anglo American, one of the two companies that make up the partnership seeking to build Alaska’s Pebble mine, dropped out of the project in the face of growing public concern over the mine’s effect on wild salmon and other wildlife that depend on them. Thanks to thousands of wildlife supporters who added their voices, we’re one monumental step closer to stopping this ill-advised mine.
Acres Secured for Bighorn Sheep
Thanks to successful NWF negotiations in the summer of 2013, we eliminated conflict between domestic and wild bighorn sheep by “retiring” domestic sheep grazing privileges on 12,000 acres of Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. This $50,000 investment will prevent domestic sheep from spreading fatal disease to two herds of bighorn.
Holding BP Accountable for Gulf Restoration
NWF and our supporters continued to be a lead voice for Gulf restoration, fighting to hold BP accountable for the damage done by the 2010 Gulf oil disaster. At the close of 2013, BP was still in court fighting just how much they will have to pay for the environmental damage they inflicted, and we were on the courthouse steps, reminding people what is at stake and amplifying the latest research of ongoing wildlife impacts.
Defending Endangered Orcas in Puget Sound
Thousands spoke out this year against the development of coal ports in the Pacific Northwest that would ship coal overseas to China and spew toxic pollution into the waters that endangered orcas depend on. With your help, NWF prompted Washington State to mandate an environmental review of one of the proposed ports, which could ultimately put an end to the project! To date NWF has successfully blocked three of six coal terminals, and with your help, continues to fight the remaining three.
Thank you for taking action with us in 2013!
The National Wildlife Federation was approached by concerned members who wanted to help raise awareness for all the wildlife in the Northwest that are at risk from further coal export development and have asked us to help put Dirty Coal’s feet to the fire with the full force of our national supporters.
Right now, the coal industry has plans to export tons of dirty coal through the Pacific Northwest to foreign markets. This coal would be strip mined from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming and then transported to the Columbia River and Puget Sound. Arch Coal, Peabody Energy, and other coal industry giants aim to export 150 million tons or more of coal per year.
Coal export industry from the Powder River Basin area already contributes more than 14 percent of the total U.S. carbon pollution. Area wildlife like the Sage-Grouse and Mule Deer have already begun to experience the negative effects of dirty energy development in what is some of their most prime habitat. Sage-Grouse have especially declined in population as crucial migration corridors have been devastated by industry development.
The story is much the same for wildlife in Puget Sound. The waters of Puget Sound make up the second largest estuary system in the United States. As the mouth of more than ten thousand freshwater rivers it is one of the most diverse aquatic ecosystems. The addition of coal export terminals and increased barge traffic have strained a system already stressed from climate change. In addition, pollution from open containers of coal and the burning of coal in Asia put the entire ecosystem at risk from salmon up to orca whales.
Plans to expand the coal export industry in the area are underway, but it’s not too late to stop coal exports in its tracks. With the support of its members and concerned citizens across the country, NWF has already successfully stopped 3 out of 6 proposed coal export terminals, but we can do more with your help!
Our goal is to raise $20,000, the first $8,000 of which will be matched 1-1 by the Energy Foundation, and we need your help in bringing light to this much needed fight to protect our cherished wildlife. By spreading the word about the coal industry’s plans to develop around Puget Sound and what the ramifications would be for area wildlife we can together achieve this goal.
There is surely strength in numbers and valued support like yours helps us push back against threats to our world and wildlife and achieve great successes in keeping the wild alive for future generations to enjoy.
Any and every contribution from speaking up and spreading the word to financial backing to individual acts of stewardship can help put us one step closer to our conservation goals and could mean the difference between life and death for many endangered species.
To find out more about this unique opportunity to protect the wildlife in and around Puget Sound from the coal exports industry and to learn how your contributions will go to work, please visit our Crowdrise page.
Together NWF and its supporters have already helped stop three out of six proposed coal export terminals, but we need your help to stop dirty coal in the Pacific Northwest once and for all!
Giving Bighorn Sheep a Chance to Roam
Here are just a few wildlife victories that we’ve achieved regionally in the Western United States this past year that your support made possible. We eliminated conflict between domestic and wild bighorn sheep by “retiring” domestic sheep grazing privileges on 12,000 acres of Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. This $50,000 investment will prevent domestic sheep from spreading fatal disease to two herds of bighorn.
We also secured New Mexico’s Rio Grande Del Norte as a national monument. This rugged 242,000-acre landscape is now permanently protected habitat for cougars, black bears, mule deer and more.
In addition, we Educated over 15,000 Colorado students and families on environmental sustainability and the value of getting kids outdoors and eliminated the threat of dirty oil shale development and protected over a million acres of crucial mule deer, elk and sage-grouse habitat in the rugged, open lands where Colorado, Utah and Wyoming meet.
In 2014 we will work to further reduce wildlife conflicts on high-risk grazing allotments through our Adopt a Wildlife Acre program. We’re continuing to protect public lands against a constant barrage of harmful national legislation. And we’re partnering with tribes and other key constituencies to restore iconic bison to their native habitat on tribal lands and the expansive Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.
Learn more about how you can help make a difference for wildlife in the Northeast.
Securing Victory for Herons, Crabs and Terrapins in Chesapeake Bay
Today we’re celebrating a victory for great blue heron, diamondback terrapin, blue crab and other Chesapeake Bay wildlife. A federal judge recently ruled in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay clean-up plan.
The fight to protect the Chesapeake Bay for wildlife is a tough, uphill battle—as is the challenge of confronting the effects of climate change that puts wildlife at risk. Our success on both these fronts depends on the continued commitment of people like you, who care about the Chesapeake Bay and its wildlife.
In the year ahead, we will continue to fight for clean water and habitats that sustain critical wildlife. Already, our opponents have announced that they will appeal the Chesapeake clean-up decision.
We’ll also continue our work to certify Baltimore as the largest Community Wildlife Habitat® along the Chesapeake Bay. By greening city streets, backyards, schools and places of worship, we will help the city provide a haven for local wildlife and help people connect to nature.
Learn more about how you can help make a difference for wildlife in the Mid-Atlantic.
Restoring the Gulf of Mexico
For many years we’ve advocated for the restoration of our nation’s wetlands—from Louisiana’s deteriorating coastal wetlands to the bays of Texas, which are increasingly starved of fresh water.
But after the 2010 Gulf oil disaster, our work took on a renewed sense of urgency. Those feelings still motivate us today.
The continued support of our dedicated members has allowed National Wildlife Federation to remain active on the frontlines as a fierce advocate for dolphins and other vulnerable wildlife across the entire Gulf coast and central states. Together, we secured passage of the historic RESTORE Act, which will send oil-spill penalties back to the Gulf to aid with restoration and recovery. In the year ahead, we’ll be working to ensure that the money BP owes for the environmental damage it caused is used for conservation.
Learn more about how you can help make a difference for wildlife in Texas, the South and along and in the Gulf.
Keeping the Wild Alive in California
Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth. So we remember with perfect clarity watching the eerie glow of flames engulfing tens of thousands of acres of Yosemite.
Wildfire isn’t always a bad thing. But across the American West there’s growing evidence that these intense fires are permanently changing landscapes that are already being altered by climate change. And while some species can handle that level of drought and heat, others—like desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn and sage grouse—are being pushed beyond their ability to cope.
In Los Angeles, we’re partnering with researchers to track a mountain lion that lives in the middle of the city, marveling over how a cougar could survive in Hollywood. Your support helped us launch our new Wildlife and the City campaign, through which we’re working to connect urban green spaces and provide safe corridors in which wildlife can live, travel and breed.
Learn more about how you can help make a difference for wildlife in California.
Protecting Alaskan Salmon from Pebble Mine
Recently, after years of hard work, we saw a major victory in the fight to stop a massive mine proposed for Bristol Bay, Alaska. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery as well as strong runs of chum salmon, silver salmon and king salmon.
Anglo American, one of the two companies that make up the partnership seeking to build Alaska’s Pebble mine, dropped out of the project in the face of growing public concern over the mine’s effect on wild salmon and other wildlife that depend on them.
Next year we hope to stop Pebble Mine once and for all—and protect other at-risk marine and terrestrial habitats in Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest. Critically-endangered orcas in Puget Sound and Hawaiian monk seals, one of America’s most endangered marine mammals, are just two of the beloved species we’re working hard to protect for future generations to know and enjoy.
Learn more about how you can make a difference for wildlife throughout the Pacific region.
Safeguarding Moose in a Warming World
It isn’t often that a moose wanders into a press conference. But when it does, it is something you never forget. Imagine our surprise when, during public press conference held at a critical wildlife crossing, a beautiful bull moose walked by!
As amusing as this incident was, it also reminded us about a serious threat facing these gentle giants today. In just the past five years, moose numbers in New Hampshire have plummeted by an alarming 40 percent due to the impacts of climate change.
Climate change is having a significant impact on wildlife and their habitat across the Northeast. To meet this unprecedented challenge, National Wildlife Federation’s Northeast Regional Center is working with state wildlife staff across the region to identify which habitats and species are the most at-risk.
Through the help of wildlife supporters like you, we’ve been able to become a national leader in developing strategies to protect wildlife from heat waves, storm surge, extreme weather and other effects of climate change.
Learn more about how you can help make a difference for wildlife in the Mid-Atlantic.
Fighting the Mackinac Pipeline Beneath the Great Lakes
In recent years, National Wildlife Federation has helped secure record-breaking federal funding to help restore the Great Lakes.
As a result, critical efforts to clean up toxic pollution, combat invasive species like Asian carp, and restore fish and wildlife habitat are already paying off. Fish and wildlife are returning to places they have not been decades.
While we’re already seeing progress, there’s still much work left to be done. One of the most urgent new threats to the Great Lakes lies in an aging pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. It pumps crude oil and natural gas fluids through waters that great blue herons, piping plovers and river otters rely on.
Our success fighting this disastrous pipeline depends on the continued support of people like you.
Learn more about how you can help make a difference for wildlife around the Great Lakes.
Looking forward to 2014
As grateful as we are for all your help this year, we need your continued support to keep up our fight for wildlife in 2014.
Orca and the Columbia River
During the spring, summer and fall, the orcas—whose numbers have dwindled to less than 90—are spotted in and near Washington’s Puget Sound and northward along the coast towards Vancouver Island and British Columbia, Canada. During the winter months, researchers have tracked the orcas traveling down the coast and to the mouth of the Columbia River with studies indicating the orcas are feeding primarily on Chinook salmon.
It is known that the famed upper Columbia/Snake River Chinook salmon gather in the salt water at the mouth of the river in the winter and spring. Once plentiful, habitat destruction has taken a toll on this mainstay of the orca diet.
The Devastating Effects of Dirty Coal
By voicing opposition to the terminal and its impacts on sensitive habitat, you can help stop dirty coal in the Pacific Northwest and safeguard orcas, salmon and other wildlife that live in or near the Columbia River Basin.
We only have a few more days to weigh in on behalf of orcas before the November 18 deadline!