Feds expand 'critical' habitat zone for endangered orcas
The National Marine Fisheries has proposed extending "critical habitat" for the endangered southern resident killer whale population from the U.S.-Canada border all the way to Point Sur south of Monterey in California.
The designation of 15,626 square miles comes as the whales' population has declined to 73 marine mammals. Six died in 2018.
"Finally, NOAA has taken an important step toward Southern resident Orca recovery: I have fought for years to expand critical habitat to safeguard this precious coastal habitat," Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement.
NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency recently pressured by President Donald Trump to back up his Alabama hurricane prediction.
https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Feds-expand-critical-habitat-zone-for-14450943.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletterspi&utm_term=spi