CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION expressing concern with the Northwest testing and training proposal of the United States Department of the Navy for Puget Sound, coastal waters from northern California through Washington State, and for Alaska.
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WHEREAS, the United States Department of the Navy ("Navy") is proposing to conduct testing and training activities in Puget Sound and coastal waters that impact marine animals; and
WHEREAS, Puget Sound is the second largest estuary in the United States with extensive shoreline, nutrient-rich waters, and diverse habitats that sustain a variety of wildlife, including the endangered Southern resident killer whale ("orca"); and
WHEREAS, within the severely declining and endangered population of Southern resident orcas, the loss of even a single orca could greatly undermine decades of recovery efforts and make recovery impossible; and
WHEREAS, whales and Coast Salish people have lived together in this region for at least 10,000 years and orcas are part of the cultural patrimony of the Coast Salish people; and
WHEREAS, the Federal government has acted to protect orcas and other marine and aquatic species through the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature has further protected Southern resident orcas by implementing the recommendations of the Southern Resident Orca Task Force ("Task Force"); and
WHEREAS, the Task Force's final report recommended coordinating with the Navy to "discuss reduction of noise and disturbance affecting Southern Resident orcas from military exercises and Navy aircraft"; and
WHEREAS, the Navy's Draft Northwest Training and Testing Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement ("Draft EIS") outlines how sonar and explosives will harm marine animals, especially those that rely on sound to communicate, locate food, avoid predators, and to navigate; and
WHEREAS, dozens of creatures in the Salish Sea wou...
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