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Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

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Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

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There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Next steps for recovery after endangered orca decision in OR

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Wednesday, February 21, 2024   

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided to list Southern Resident orcas as an endangered species.

With it comes guidelines for how the decision will protect the remaining population of about 74 West Coast whales.

Ben Enticknap, Pacific Project manager and senior scientist for Oceana, said ensuring the orcas have enough salmon to eat is the main barrier, and the federal government, Washington state, tribes and the public sector were working on this prior to Oregon's listing decision.

"What this does is really prioritize Oregon's work on this issue of recovering salmon and added another layer of understanding and reason for why we need to be doing this now and doing it more urgently than is already being done," Enticknap explained.

Enticknap pointed out listing by Oregon could help the state get more resources from the federal government for salmon recovery. Southern Resident orcas already are listed as endangered federally and by Washington state.

The endangered listing in Oregon comes with guidelines for how to recover the species, including addressing pollutants, increasing boaters' knowledge about federal vessel buffers to decrease noise disturbance, and enhancing hatchery Chinook salmon production if possible.

Enticknap noted the orcas feed on Chinook at the mouth of the Columbia River in the winter and spring.

"To really have a long-term sustainable fix, we need to be investing in wild salmon recovery," Enticknap contended. "That means doing things like river restoration, dam removal, sustainable harvest limits and things like that can help these chinook salmon populations recover."

Enticknap added dam removal on Columbia River tributaries could help the fish. He also noted warmer waters and lower snowpack from climate change are increasingly impacting salmon populations, which is also hurting Southern Resident orcas.

Disclosure: Oceana contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species and Wildlife, Environment, and Oceans. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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