Help us make a BIG impact with our mission to protect the wild orca populations of the Pacific Northwest and make a donation for GiveBIG today!
Eligible donors can DOUBLE their impact with employer matching! Check to see if you are eligible by clicking the Donate button and searching for your employer in the “Employer Donation Matching” box.
To thank you for helping make our work possible, we will be giving away a set of Southern Resident Flashcards and the new Southern Resident Eye Patch guide, coming this June!
How does your donation support orca recovery efforts?
With your contribution, we will be able to continue and expand our projects and initiatives that are aimed at addressing the threats facing the Southern Residents, including:
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Salmon Enhancement Projects
In 2025, Orca Conservancy acquired a second restoration parcel along Soos Creek in the Green–Duwamish watershed, a critical migration corridor for Chinook salmon. At both our CWA and Berrydale sites, we work alongside partners and community volunteers to remove invasive plants and replant the area with native trees and shrubs.
These restoration efforts help protect struggling salmon populations by cooling the water through increased shade, filtering harmful runoff before it reaches the creek, reducing erosion along the banks, and creating healthy riparian habitat that supports the insects young salmon depend on for food. By restoring this watershed, we’re strengthening the very foundation of the Southern Residents’ food web.
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Biopsy Research
Orca Conservancy is collaborating with leading researchers around the world on a study investigating how human-made pollutants impact the health and hormones of West Coast Transient (Bigg’s) killer whales. These whales are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world. Because many of these contaminants can disrupt hormones and reproduction, this research focuses on analyzing blubber samples to better understand how toxic exposure affects development, stress response, and long-term health.
This work is especially important for the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales, who face many of the same pollution pressures. By understanding how contaminants are affecting Bigg’s killer whales, this research can help uncover the biological mechanisms that may also be impacting Southern Residents, which will be used to guide smarter conservation strategies, stronger regulations, and more effective recovery efforts moving forward.
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California Endangered Species Act Petition
In response to recent rollbacks in federal conservation funding and proposed changes to key protections, Orca Conservancy has filed a petition with the State of California to list Southern Resident killer whales as an endangered species. While SRKWs are already protected federally and in Canada, Washington, and Oregon, this petition would extend those protections throughout their full habitat range — adding a crucial safety net as they migrate into California waters. -
Seattle Hydrophone
Our AI Hydrophones Project uses hydrophones (underwater microphones) paired with artificial intelligence to automatically detect orca vocalizations in real time. When calls are detected, we can alert nearby entities, including commercial vessels and the military, to help reduce noise disturbance and the risk of vessel strikes. Our Sunset Bay hydrophone has also been selected by the State of Washington as a designated emergency-response hydrophone, supporting rapid action during critical incidents.
We are currently entering the permitting and application phase for a second hydrophone deployment in Seattle and are assessing additional sites in Rosario Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to expand the regional acoustic network and improve coverage across key orca habitat.