Our community celebrates the life of Ken Balcomb, the founder of the Center for Whale Research, who died recently, and who spent his life devoted to protecting Killer Whales and their connection to our past and future.

Southern Resident Killer Whales embody a range of issues and cultural meanings that we work to connect: salmon habitat, healthy forests, and riparian areas, the use of green infrastructure, and reducing toxics and oil spills. Perhaps our fate and success are tied to that of the Killer Whale.

We are grateful to Christopher Dunagan of the Puget Sound Institute who wrote an appropriately beautiful and moving sendoff about Ken and how he drove, and captivated, both imagination and action.

Did you Know?

The destiny of the Southern Resident Killer Whales relies on an all-hands approach. The Stormwater Strategic Initiative Lead Team (SIL) worked on Governor Inslee's Orca Task Force, the contaminant recommendations of which were incorporated into the final recommendations. The stormwater world also supports a wide range of green infrastructure applications which serve to reduce the availability of toxic chemicals in water and soils.

The Habitat SIL is working across habitat types to support Orca recovery through Smart Growth, riparian restoration, oil spills, and salmonid approaches.