NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced its issuance of a final rule effective Wednesday, Sept. 1 revising critical habitat for the Southern Resident killer whale distinct population segment by designating six additional coastal critical habitat areas along the U.S. West Coast. The areas include 15,910 square miles of waters between the 20-ft. and 656.2-ft. depth contours from the U.S.-Canada border to Point Sur, CA. The designation excludes the Quinault Range Site comprised of 1,400 sq. miles because NMFS determined that the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion.
NMFS Revises Southern Resident Killer Whale Critical Habitat
