Save the Southern Resident orcas

Dear Sens. Cantwell and Murray,

An 8,000-page assessment of the environmental impacts of dams and reservoirs in the Columbia River basin was just released. Almost entirely absent from that report: mentions of the Southern Resident orca, and how the Lower Snake River dams affect their food source.

Southern Resident orcas are starving. Fewer than 80 remain in the wild today. To save them, we know we need to save their supply of Chinook salmon.

But since the construction of the Lower Snake River dams, the salmon population has dropped alarmingly. I urge you to bring breaching these dams to Congress in order to restore the salmon population that these orcas need to survive and thrive.