(March photo by David Hutchinson, Southern Residents seen from Constellation Park) By Tracy Record West Seattle Blog editor News of what’s believed to be a newborn Southern Resident Killer Whale didn’t emerge until after The Whale Trail‘s summer gathering four nights ago. Nonetheless, it was an optimistic, even jubilant gathering just the same, with an update on the resident orcas from their spring visits and the new laws meant to “give them space” on the water. The gathering filled C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) last Thursday night, with The Whale Trail’s founder/executive director Donna Sandstrom first providing an update on her organization, which is now educating people from California to Canada about the orcas (and other sea life) with more than 130 interpretive signs installed so far, including four in West Seattle, “to connect people more deeply to the place they’re at.” Almost half those signs are in British Columbia, where the newest one – in Saturna – was just dedicated, with a special audio feature so that visitors can hear local First Nations people’s songs about the whales. She also spoke about the orca task force, launched by Gov. Inslee, on which she served, a desperate bid to help stop the Southern Resident Killer Whales from going extinct, which Sandstrom said could happen in less than a century, “just a minute in time.” Accomplishments included a licensing program for commercial whale watchers and a voluntary program to give the whales space. That became even more urgent when research showed noise had an even-more dramatic effect on the orcas. And then the new law requiring boaters to stay 1,000 yards away from Southern Residents, starting in 2025, was passed. Sandstrom says she’s hopeful that 80 percent of boaters will pledge to do that voluntarily long before it’s required. And she hopes the U.S. and Canadian governments will step up and adopt the rule too. That led to the night’s first guess, hailed by Sandstrom as an “orca hero,” 34th District State. Rep. (and House Majority Leader) Joe Fitzgibbon. He said legislative efforts to protect the environment really gained ground in 2019, and said that successes since then were not only what had already been mentioned, but also oil-spill protection, restrictions on toxic chemicals like flame retardants, and enforcement power for the state Fish and Wildlife Department regarding laws such as limits on in-water construction. Overall, though, he said, … Continue reading ORCAS: The Whale Trail celebrates a ‘sea change’ in support for protection