A3
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019
Feds propose major habitat
protections for killer whales
Waters along
the West Coast
Gov. Brown drops
special session on
death penalty bill
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Oregon Capital Bureau
By SALLY HO
Associated Press
SEATTLE — U.S. pro-
tections for the waters that a
group of endangered orcas
call home could soon expand
beyond the Seattle area to
encompass much of the West
Coast, from the Canadian
border to central California.
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
issued a proposal Wednes-
day to increase the critical
habitat designation for south-
ern resident killer whales by
more than sevenfold under
the Endangered Species Act.
Just 73 orcas remain in the
Pacifi c Northwest population,
the lowest number in more
than three decades. They’re
struggling with a lack of Chi-
nook salmon, their preferred
prey, as well as toxic contam-
ination and vessel noise.
The NOAA proposal
calls for an additional 15,626
square miles of federally pro-
tected habitat that would run
from the border with Can-
ada, down south to Point Sur,
California.
The designation means
federal agencies must ensure
that activities they pay for,
permit or carry out do not
harm the habitat, but it does
not generally affect approved
recreational or commercial
activity such as whale watch-
ing and shipping, said Lynne
Barre, NOAA Fisheries’
recovery coordinator for the
whales.
“It only affects federal
actions, so where there is a
federal permit or grant or fed-
eral decision, that’s what’s
protected,” Barre said.
The orcas that return to the
inland waters of Washington
state every summer are genet-
ically distinct from other killer
Elaine Thompson/AP Photo
Habitat protections for an endangered population of orcas would be greatly expanded under
a proposal advanced by NOAA.
whale populations around the
world and differ from some
of the others in eating primar-
ily salmon, rather than seals
or other marine mammals.
The survival of the three
orca pods that make up the
so-called southern resident
population have been under
intense scrutiny recently. One
orca, known as J35, drew
international attention last
year as she carried her dead
newborn on her head for
more than two weeks.
The whales were listed as
endangered in 2005 after the
Center for Biological Diver-
sity sued for the status. The
following year, NOAA Fish-
eries designated Puget Sound
as critical habitat, which cov-
ered about 2,560 square miles
around Seattle.
The environmental group
sued again last year to force
the agency to act on its 2014
petition to expand protec-
tions to where the orcas look
for food and migrate off the
coasts of Washington state,
Oregon and California.
The group said the pro-
tections would help reduce
water pollution and restrict
vessel traffi c that can inter-
fere with the animals. NOAA
Fisheries agreed in 2015 that
such a move was necessary.
Species with critical habi-
tat protections like those pro-
posed Wednesday are twice
as likely to recover, said Julie
Teel Simmonds, a senior
attorney at the Center for Bio-
logical Diversity. The plan is
largely in line with what her
group has pushed for.
“It’s an independent
requirement that really
focuses on the recovery
aspect, so we’re not just try-
ing to keep these orcas limp-
ing along at 73 individuals,”
she said. “We want to see
them grow to the point where
these protections won’t be
needed.”
National security con-
cerns exempt a large area in
and around the U.S. Navy’s
Quinault Range Site, which
conducts underwater testing
in western Washington. The
EVENT RENTAL
SPACE AVAILABLE
potential protection zone also
overlaps with tribal fi shing
rights in Washington state, but
that area is not exempted, said
Barre of NOAA Fisheries.
Idaho, Oregon and Cal-
ifornia were notifi ed of the
proposal, though Barre said
there hasn’t been offi cial
feedback yet. The 90-day
public comment period opens
Thursday and approval is not
expected until at least next
year.
An economic impact
study projects the proposal
would create about $68,000
in administrative costs a
year. Barre said that num-
ber takes into account how
federal authorities assess the
effect to whales when consid-
ering projects and any pos-
sible changes to their habi-
tat, such as water quality and
passageways.
“I don’t want to overplay
it and create a perception that
there’ll be sweeping regu-
latory changes,” Barre said.
“We’re already analyzing
impacts.”
Gov. Kate Brown will
not call a special session to
change a controversial bill
limiting the state’s death
penalty before the law takes
effect on Sept. 29.
Senate Bill 1013, which
lawmakers approved this
year, changed when prose-
cutors can charge someone
with aggravated murder —
the only charge in Oregon
for which the death penalty
can be sought.
During legislative hear-
ings, lawmakers support-
ing the bill said it wouldn’t
apply to old cases where
defendants had already been
sentenced. But, after the leg-
islative session ended, the
Oregon Department of Jus-
tice said the law could apply
to people on Oregon’s death
row who have been granted
a new trial on appeal.
Brown said in late
August that she would call a
special session if lawmakers
could round up support for
a change to clarify the law.
But by Wednesday evening,
it was apparent that there
wasn’t enough support for
that change, she said.
“While it is clear there is
a misunderstanding regard-
ing the intent of the words
in Senate Bill 1013, it is also
clear there is not suffi cient
support for a special session
to pass a fi x,” Brown said
in a statement as lawmak-
ers wrapped up three days
of interim committee meet-
ings at the Capitol. “When
announcing my support for
a special session, I said that
it was conditional on stake-
holders and legislators craft-
ing bill language that had
the votes to pass. That has
not been achieved.
“I cannot justify the addi-
The Harbor, Clatsop County’s Advocacy Center For Survivors
of Domestic And Sexual Violence And Stalking,
Invites You To Our
COMMUNITY AND VOLUNTEER OPEN HOUSE
Birthdays, Meetings, Corporate Gatherings, etc.
Thursday, October 3
Harbor Advocacy Center,
801 Commercial Street,
Astoria
* LEARN about volunteer
opportunities at the Harbor
and our trainings beginning
in mid October!
* DISCOVER what Harbor
advocates do every day for
our community and how
you can help!
Indoor capacity of 99 people. Covered outdoor
area. Roll up doors for outdoor usage/activities,
includes a fire pit, and field use. Tables and
chairs available as needed.
* MEET other committed,
passionate community
members with an interest in
social justice and changing
the world.
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Wine and cheese
RSVP felicity@harbornw.org
or just show up!
$
300 FOR ALL DAY RENTAL
Call 503-325-4600 for more information
92937 Walluski Loop Astoria, Oregon
Check out our website and
Facebook page for 2019 events!
WWW.CLATSOPCOFAIREXPO.COM
tional cost and time a spe-
cial session requires without
that support, and I will not
be calling the L egislature
into a special session this
month before the law goes
into effect,” Brown said.
Late last month, Sen.
Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene,
said he sought a change to
the law to have it apply only
to offenses committed on or
after Sept. 29, when the law
takes effect. Reached after
the governor’s announce-
ment, Prozanski said that a
special session to pass the
tweak had support in the
Senate, but not in the House.
“When we are faced with
these type of situations, we
look at it, we measure it, and
then if we determine that
something needs to be done,
that we are willing to put
politics to the side and actu-
ally fi nish and make certain
that the policy we actually
passed is actually inter-
preted the way we intended
it to be,” Prozanski said of
his colleagues in the Senate.
“We were not willing to play
the politics that apparently is
being played in the House.”
Brown’s announcement
was met with criticism from
Republicans. “I am disap-
pointed the governor did
not take the opportunity to
call lawmakers into ses-
sion to fi x the bungled death
penalty bill,” tweeted new
House Republican Leader
Christine Drazan. “This
was a lost opportunity to
protect victims’ families,
achieve a bipartisan solu-
tion and uphold the will of
the voters.”
Senate
Republican
Leader Herman Baertsch-
iger Jr., of Grants Pass,
claimed the bill “will infl ict
even more pain on the vic-
tims’ families who have
already been horribly dam-
aged and traumatized.”