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Jun 05

PCD Celebrates Orca Month with Orca Recovery Day Banner Installation

Posted to Conservation Corner by Marlie Sloan

The colorful Orca Recovery Day banner is now displayed in our office in honor of Orca Month in June!
The colorful Orca Recovery Day banner is now displayed in our office in honor of Orca Month in June!

Did you know that June is Orca Month? For more than 15 years, people around the Pacific Northwest have celebrated, taken action, and raised awareness around orcas in our region during the month of June.

This Orca Month, we are celebrating the on-going work to recover our endangered Southern Resident Orcas by displaying the banner created at our Orca Recovery Day event last October. The banner will be on display at our offices in Puyallup from May 22-July 1, 2023.

This banner was painted by over 50 participants at an event at the Tacoma DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve on Fox Island, WA in October 2022. Participants included several families from the Curious by Nature outdoor preschool in Gig Harbor, WA, members of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, staff and volunteers from Pierce Conservation District, and Fox Island community members. Participants at this event also worked on maintenance on a riparian planting project installed to improve forage fish habitat on the beach at the preserve. Forage fish are an important food source for salmon, including Chinook salmon, the preferred prey of the endangered Southern Resident Orcas who are the subject of Orca Recovery Day. 

History of Orca Recovery Day 

In 2018, the world watched as Tahlequah, a Southern Resident Killer Whale, carried her dead calf for 17 days, traveling almost 1,000 miles off the Pacific Northwest coast before letting go. Tahlequah isn’t the first grieving orca mother- unfortunately, hers was one of many calf deaths across the past two decades. According to the Center for Whale Research, approximately 75 percent of newborns in the Southern Resident killer whale population have not survived.

In response to Tahlequah’s image of grief and the increasing need to help our orcas, Orca Recovery Day was created Washington conservation districts, an intentional day of action to restore habitat, reduce stormwater pollution, and educate the public about things they can do every day to help one of the most iconic species of the Pacific Northwest.

Because when it comes to the fight for our orcas, just like this collaborative banner, we all have something to bring to the table. 

There is still so much work to do, but we want to take a moment to celebrate the people who work day after day and year after year on recovering these iconic orcas and the ecosystems they depend on. Recovered salmon runs and a healthy Puget Sound not only supports orcas but creates a better ecosystem for us all.    

Painting the entire 6x10 foot banner took teamwork, with some kids climbing up on the table to paint
Painting the entire 6x10 foot banner took teamwork, with some kids climbing up on the table to paint.


Volunteers, including children and adults, painted the Orca Recovery Day banner at PCD’s 2022 event.
Volunteers, including children and adults, painted the Orca Recovery Day banner at PCD’s 2022 event.


Staff standing next to the banner, right at Orca eye level.
Staff standing next to the banner, right at Orca eye level.
Jun 05

Walla Walla Claims Top Spot at State Envirothon

Posted to Environmental Education by Marlie Sloan

The students from Walla Walla High School hold their 1st place certificate.
The students from Walla Walla High School hold their 1st place certificate.

What a Wonderful Envirothon!

Soundview Camp on the Key Peninsula was the setting for this year's Washington State Envirothon competition. Teams from around the state descended on the camp to put their natural resources knowledge to the test, having earned their way through various regional events. As teams arrived, they explored the camp's trails and expansive shoreline, noting the sand dollars and jellyfish scattered along the shore of the Puget Sound. They made the most of the first day at camp, mingling with other teams through trivia, scavenger hunts, and a communal dinner. 

As they finished their breakfast the next morning, it was time to turn their attention to the task at hand. They dispersed to their testing stations scattered around the camp. From identifying wildlife skulls, to measuring tree diameter, and analyzing soil profiles, they tackled the challenging tests placed before them. They also presented their approaches to mitigating the effects of climate change to a panel of judges on behalf of a small waterfront town. 

When the pencils were down and the scores added up, Walla Walla High School had earned 1st place- in their first ever year of competing, no less! Following in 2nd place was Tesla STEM High School of Renton, and Avanti High School of Olympia placing 3rd among the 11 competing teams. It was another strong field, and we can't wait to cheer on Walla Walla as they advance to the North American Envirothon Competition in July! Great job to all the students.

Students gather at the camp's amphitheater for a trivia competition.
Students and staff gather at the camp's amphitheater for a trivia competition. 


A team roasts marshmallows together over the camp's fire.
A team roasts marshmallows together over the camp's fire. 


A group explores the beach and discovers aquatic life.
A group explores the beach and discovers aquatic life.


Students are smiling at the aquatics station.
Team Coho smiles at the aquatics station.
Apr 04

South Prairie Creek Preserve Restoration Project Interactive Storymap

Posted to Habitat Improvement by Camila Matamala-Ost

Arial drone footage of South Prairie Creek Preserve  on a sunny day in May last year.  Drone footage of South Prairie Creek Preserve on a sunny day in May.

South Prairie Creek Preserve (SPCP) in its current state is a culmination of almost 20 years of restoration efforts by Pierce Conservation District using a wide range of conservation and preservation methods --- because no single restoration method can completely rehabilitate a site this large.

These restoration strategies are outlined in this informative and beautiful Storymap created by PCD’s Habitat Team. The interactive document summarizes the history of SPCP, including the land stewardship history by the Puyallup and Muckleshoot tribes, restoration outcomes of project, and includes images of the spawning salmon that proliferate in the fall.