Saturday, October 14th 2023

Join Mason Conservation District for the Sixth Annual Orca Recovery Day
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You can do your part to help the Orca population.

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The Southern Resident Orca Whales that call Puget Sound home are critically endangered. Over the past couple of years, many local orcas have died from a combination of malnutrition, polluted waters, and stress from local boat traffic. In 2018, the world watched as Tahlequah, a Southern Resident Killer Whale, carry her dead calf for 17 days, travelling almost 1,000 miles off the Pacific Northwest coast before letting go. According to the Center for Whale Research, approximately 75 percent of newborns in the Southern Resident killer whale population have not survived.

With just over 70 individuals left in the local population, we must act now. By working to improve salmon habitat, we can help their populations grow and provide a food source and clean waters to save the most iconic species of the Pacific Northwest. ​As we restore our shorelines, there will be more forage fish such as sand lance and smelt, giving the salmon more food and therefore more food for the orcas. Puget Sound has 7,500 miles of shoreline, 2,500 of which has been degraded by development.

For more information and a history of Orca Recovery Day visit: https://betterground.org/ord

Event Information 
Date: October 14, 2023
Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm
Location: Oakland Bay Historical Park
​1570 E Agate Bay Road, Shelton

This year we are partnering with Mason County Parks and Capitol Land Trust to restore habitat at Oakland Bay Historical Park. Volunteers are invited to be a part of the solution for our endangered Southern Resident Orca Whales. Our Southern Resident Orca Whales enjoy feeding on many of the salmon species that travel through the Malaney Creek and Oakland Bay Historical Park Property, such as the Chum, and Coho Salmon. Restoring habitat around the park helps ensure the prosperity and migration of these species that our Orcas have come home to Oakland Bay to feed on.

For more information and a history of Oakland Bay Historical Park visit Capitol Land Trust.

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Covid-19 Guidelines:

Volunteer Responsibilities:

• If you are sick in any way or have come in contact with someone who has been sick in the last two weeks, please stay home.
• Wear a face covering over your nose and mouth, except during breaks when you are at least 6 feet away from others. If you are unable to wear masks, we ask that you contact us directly for specific accommodations.
• Maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from people outside your household. 
• Please bring your own food and water. For the time being, we will not be providing food or drinks. Volunteers will not be able to share snacks with the group, even if they are individually wrapped.
• Volunteers are required to bring their own gloves.
• Please bring your own tools if you are able. Tools and gloves will not be shared between people outside your household throughout the work party.

Mason Conservation District Responsibilities:​

• MCD will plan work areas to maximize distance between participants.
• MCD will provide necessary tools and materials for the work being performed such as shovels.
  • All tools and gloves will be quarantined for at least four days or disinfected between uses. 
  • Used materials will be kept separate from clean materials and properly disinfected.
• MCD will provide hand sanitizer to be used by volunteers throughout the workday.
• MCD will provide disposable masks for those who do not have their own.

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Questions?
Contact our AmeriCorps member, Aubrey Cardoza, at mcdamericorps@masoncd.org