CETACEAN SOCIETY, FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS, PEOPLE FOR PUGET SOUND, PROJECT SEAWOLF, CASCADE CHAPTER OF THE SIERRA CLUB

• Main Author: Ralph Munro
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2001
• Subjects: Pacific; Killer Whale; Orca; Orcinus orca; Killer whale
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.76.6751; http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/orca/petition.pdf

Contact: Brent Plater Petitioner Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) formally requests that the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) list the Southern Resident killer whale (Orcinus orca) as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act. 1 In the alternative, petitioner formally requests that NMFS list the Southern Resident killer whale as a threatened species under the ESA. In either case, CBD requests that critical habitat be designated concurrent with the listing designation. This petition is filed under § 553(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act, 2 § 1533(b)(3) of the ESA, and 50 C.F.R. § 424.14(b). Because O. orca is classified in the order Cetacea, NMFS has jurisdiction over this petition. 3 This petition sets in motion a specific administrative process as defined by § 1533(b)(3) and 50 C.F.R. § 424.14(b), placing mandatory response requirements on NMFS. The Center for Biological Diversity is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to protecting endangered species and wild places of western North America and the Pacific through science, policy, education, and environmental law. CBD submits this petition on its own behalf and on behalf of its members and staff, with an interest in protecting the killer whale and