Firsts - They Aren't Always Good

Sunday, September 3rd
Sometimes 'Firsts' are good.  This time the 'First' is horrible.

It is the 'FIRST' time in over 40 years that J Pod has not been in the Salish Sea - not anywhere - in the entire month of August! 

Devastating, horrible, troubling are only a few words.

Another word I hear is 'sad' - but it is doubly sad when it is accompanied with a 'dismissal' attitude.  

In fact, only 19 L Pod whales were in the Salish Sea for no more than 24 hours in the early part of August. And all of K Pod hasn't been seen in over 6 months.

People are seeing orcas of the Transient community.  I am hoping that 'mother nature' is helping to restore some balance in the marine life in here.   The Ts eat harbor seals (who eat salmon), harbor porpoise (who eat small bait like fish) and sea lions (more salmon eaters).

In the last two days Ts have passed by Lime Kiln lighthouse and on both occasions they have taken harbor seals...likely harbor seal weaned pups, because the 'takes' have been so quick.

 

Over fishing, lack of respect for the waters - trash, waste, oil, all kinds of things that don't belong in the water are there.
The increase in threats to the waters seems never ending and it all seems to stem from the 'dollar' or the want of the dollar.
"When will less be more?"

In My Opinion:
When I came here 14 years ago, just about everywhere one would go - a campground, a park, etc. there were signs:  Pack it in.  Pack it out.
That was new to me and it made me think.  But what I saw a few years later, when the trash cans came in and those signs went away, is that people stopped being educated.
Educated?  Yes.  Pack it in. Pack it out. What a great subtle way to educate people to take care of their stuff, to not litter, to be aware of what they are doing.  So sad when those signs went away. 

Please stay on the trail...that's a great one and people just trample right on past.  No where is there a place in nature that anyone owns.  It needs to be protected and cared for by everyone.  If it says or is indicated in some way to stay on the trail you are already on, then do it.  

Are you a person who walks by trash on the street?...or...do you pick it up?  So easy to carry a small trash bag for the purpose of keeping 'your' surroundings nice. 

Give people the opportunity to learn.  If it is all given to them without them learning, on some level, then nothing will ever change for the better.

The Southern Residents might not ever come back.  (Of course I say that hoping I am very wrong.) Maybe they are finding enough to eat elsewhere and a more quiet world where they are now, with less of everything except food. The loss of their leader, Granny J-2, last fall, may also be part of this. But we don't know and continue to wait as this next chapter in their lives continues.
So far it is filled with voids - void of their presence, void of returning salmon, even a void of many of the birds usually seen here...and more...


I will continue to believe that when Chinook salmon, in enough numbers, return, that the Southern Resident will too.  After all, I will not give up on them.  And I believe that many things that are missing will also show up - the birds, etc. 
Salmon are extremely important and the lack of understanding that native species are what are needed here.

The Transients are the transients and are fun to see, but they don't take my breath away. They are not the Southern Residents. 

Sad to think that this place, these islands, and peoples of both US and Canada would allow continued degradation of the ocean waters, rivers and creeks that have supported and sustained life for more years than we know.

Stop and 'smell the roses' while there's still some left, and learn and cherish this delicate world in which we live.

Okay, enough of my rant or maybe it was just my 'whale of a tale' for the morning.