A reflection of whale watchers seen through the window of the Puget Sound Express traveling from the Port of Edmonds along Puget Sound on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. (Photo by Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)
On Friday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a $1.1 billion budget and comprehensive recovery plan for rescuing Washington’s imperiled Southern Resident Orca population.
The recovery plan draws from the work of the governor’s Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force (also known as the Orca Task Force), which Inslee commissioned in March.
“Our Washington state orcas are being pushed to the edge of eternal silence and Washington state will not allow [that],” Inslee told the press corps in Olympia.
There is cautious optimism that the numbers back up the governor’s bold talk. Some task force members are calling the budget (which draws from the state’s transportation, capital and operating budgets) “unprecedented” in terms of funding for not just orca and salmon recovery, but also for programs that protect the entire Puget Sound ecosystem.
“I’m elated,” says Stephanie Solien, task force co-chair and Puget Sound Partnership leader. “I feel, really, a great sense of satisfaction. The governor really listened. And it makes me optimistic about our chance to be successful.”