No. 1248, June 6, 2024

Demand Quieter Oceans for Southern Resident Orcas

Southern Resident orcas are starving, struggling to catch enough food in an increasingly loud, overfished, and polluted ocean. With only 74 left, a single catastrophic event could wipe them out forever.

NOAA Fisheries designated critical habitat for Southern Residents in 2006, but it still hasn't limited noise pollution within these protected areas. Noise from ships and boats interferes with orcas' echolocation, hearing, and communication, making it harder for these starving animals to hunt and eat Chinook salmon, their preferred prey.

The beloved orcas of the Pacific Northwest deserve quieter habitat. Slowing vessels, requiring routine maintenance, and changing vessel routes are just a few ways NOAA Fisheries can quickly reduce noise pollution and help orcas thrive again — the agency just needs a push to act.

June is Orca Month, the perfect time to make that push. Tell NOAA Fisheries to save Southern Resident orcas from extinction by taking meaningful steps to limit noise pollution in their inland waters critical habitat.

Suit Aims to Save Polar Bears, Whales From Alaska LNG

The Center for Biological Diversity and allies just sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries for failing to properly study how an Alaska liquefied natural gas project would harm federally protected polar bears, Cook Inlet beluga whales, and North Pacific right whales.

The project would bisect Alaska with an 807-mile pipeline and let the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation ship some 20 million metric tons of gas from Alaska’s Arctic every year.

“I’m outraged by how thoroughly federal agencies ignored the many ways this LNG project is likely to harm endangered whales and polar bears,” said the Center’s Oceans Legal Director Kristen Monsell. “Our climate can’t take more fossil fuel extraction, and neither can these desperately imperiled animals.”

Help our fight to save polar bears, whales, and other species with a gift to our Saving Life on Earth Fund.

Fighting for Woolly Bats and Warty Toads

Last week the Center sought Endangered Species Act protection for two animal species that badly need help.

First we petitioned for painted woolly bats, who are killed and collected from their native habitat in South and Southeast Asia to be sold as decor globally. Sadly the United States is a major and growing market for this trade, importing hundreds of these stunningly beautiful bats in just the past few years.

Also last week — on the same day — we petitioned to protect southern Nevada’s Amargosa toads, threatened by multiple proposed gold-mining projects surrounding their habitat — as well as invasive species, off-road vehicles, and trampling by cows and other nonnative ungulates. With a mass extinction crisis well underway, the United States can’t afford to lose any more species.

The Plight of the Western Bumblebee

These are perilous times for wild native bees, many of whom are vital for wildflower and crop pollination. That includes western bumblebees, a species that was once common but has suffered declines of more than 90% in recent decades. Among the threats to bees are habitat destruction, overgrazing, pesticides, and climate change.

Head to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to see the Center’s latest visualization focusing on the study of several bee populations in the West — and the futures they may face if they don’t get help soon.

Seven Texas Freshwater Mussels Protected

Thanks to a legal agreement with the Center, the Fish and Wildlife Service has granted Endangered Species Act protection to seven colorfully named Texas freshwater mussels: the Texas pimpleback, Guadalupe orb, Texas fatmucket, Guadalupe fatmucket, false spike, Balcones spike, and Texas fawnsfoot. The Service also protected 1,577.5 miles of Texas waterways as critical habitat.

“These mussels filter yucky organic gunk from rivers and keep Texas waters clean for all manner of life, including people,” said the Center’s Michael Robinson. “Even if they weren’t vital to their freshwater ecosystems and quietly helpful to humanity, they’re fascinating animals that deserve to survive into the future.”

Revelator: The Return of the Birds

Just a few months ago, birds had all but abandoned Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge following several years of extreme drought. Now the birds are back — and so is the water. But for that to happen, people had to change.

Learn how they pulled it off in The Revelator. And if you don’t already, subscribe to the free weekly Revelator e-newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news.

That’s Wild: Camels Helping Imperiled Joshua Trees

After cataclysmic wildfires in 2020 and 2023 scorched over a million Joshua trees in southeastern California, volunteers organized by the National Park Service have been working to replant the iconic species.

It’s hard work in roadless desert habitat and burn scar. Fortunately camels are here to help.

Chico, Sully, and Herbie support the volunteers by lugging water, Joshua tree sprouts, and other supplies to remote locations.

Our Conservation Director Brendan Cummings, who participates in the replanting efforts, noted, “Even if the camels play only a small part, they bring a certain je ne sais quoi to the event that adds a mix of absurdity plus practicality — which pretty much sums up what a camel is.”

Head to Vox to see photos of the charismatic conservation camels and to learn more about saving Joshua trees.

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Photo credits: Southern Resident orca by David Ellifrit/NOAA; polar bear by Alan D. Wilson/Nature’s Pics Online, Cook Inlet beluga whale by Paul Wade/NOAA Fisheries, North Pacific right whale by John Durban/NOAA Fisheries; painted woolly bat courtesy Center for Biological Diversity, Amargosa toad used with permission; western bumblebee video still by Dipika Kadaba/Center for Biological Diversity; Texas fatmucket mussels courtesy USFWS; geese at Tule Lake by Juliet Grable; camel by prof-richard/Flickr.

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