Killer whales and salmon are a specialty of Puget Sound. In a livestreamed talk set for Thursday, Donnie Stephenson, vice chairman of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and Linda Mapes, an environmental reporter for the Seattle Times, will discuss the interrelationship of these two beloved animals and the Puget Sound Discuss the importance of salmon to all living things. —Including people.
The presentation, sponsored by the Burke Museum, is free and open to the public Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. Register here.
The talk was in commemoration of this coming Saturday’s 5th Annual Orca Recovery Day, a day of volunteer work on behalf of orcas and salmon around Puget Sound. . More than 40 events will be held across the region, ranging from tree planting to invasive weed pulling to street fairs. Register here for a volunteer event in your community.
Orca Recovery Day was created by the Washington Conservancy as a day of action to restore habitat, reduce stormwater pollution, and educate the public on ways to support orca recovery. The initiative was created in response to an outpouring of grief for Tahlequah, a mother killer whale who sailed more than 1,000 miles across the Salish Sea for 17 days carrying her dead calf in the summer of 2018. She came to symbolize the struggle of Southerners. Killer whales for survival.
A nearly endangered species, there are only 73 orcas left in the southern region. They rely on Chinook salmon for part of their main diet, but Chinook also suffer because of the so-called four H’s: habitat destruction, hydroelectric dams, and habitat destruction and hydroelectric dams. I am. Harvest and Hatchery.
Thursday’s lecture on killer whales and salmon, sponsored by the Burke Museum in partnership with Bladed River and Washington Conservation Action, is part of the special exhibition “We Are… One or more of the Puget Sound programs.