Seattle Times (@seattletimes) environment reporter Lynda V Mapes (@LyndaVMapes) on dams versus salmon, saving the southern resident orcas and how Tahlequah changed the world. “All the things we do for our comfort, convenience and commerce are not good for the southern residents. And that’s just fact.”
Skaana podcasts connect you to news and experts and their discussions about environments, oceans, and orcas.

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Show notes:

00:30 – Lynda Mapes on falling in love with Ocean Sun
1:50 – Skaana introduction to Lynda Mapes and Tahlequah
9:31 – Removing dams and saving orcas
10:47 – “What do we want the next 150 years to look like?”
11:06 – Becoming the environmental reporter for Seattle newspapers and covering the Makah whale hunt.
15:25 – “We have a motto at the Seattle Times – news you can’t get anywhere else.”
19:30 – Hearing about Tahlequah and her daughter: “And I thought, she won’t let it go. I’m not letting it go.”
20:26 – “I don’t think she ever dropped it. I think it fell apart.”
21:04 – “By the time we wrote that last story where she dropped the calf, there were six million people reading that story online.”
21:13 – Scientists know that these very sophisticated intelligent animals grieve and that that’s what she was doing… these are families.”
26:05 – Tahlequah’s political impact.
30:54 – The Snake River Dam vs. salmon and orcas.
39:15 – Undamming the Elwha River – a river revival.
43:20 – Return of the eagles and dippers (a songbird at the Elwha).
46:36 – “Canada has been a real heartbreak for us down here in the States” – American opposition to Canadian pipeline expansion.
50:27 – “All the things we do for our comfort, convenience and commerce are not good for the southern residents. And that’s just fact.”
55:00 – On the differences in dealing with NOAA and the DFO.
57:38 – Names versus numbers.
1:00:17 – “Calling them by this sort of widget number is bizarre and insulting.”
1:04:00 – “The right way to think about these animals is… they comprise ancient societies.”
1:04:45 – “People say to me oh they’re just like us. Don’t flatter yourself… we could learn a lot from them.”
1:09:30 – “Everywhere we live is orca country.”
1:10:00 – On why she has hope.

In this episode, iconic orca mom, Tahlequah, talks to host Mark Leiren-Young about the upcoming US elections and what life is like for a whale in the Trump-era.

Skaana connects you to stories about oceans, eco-ethics and the environment.

Check out this special video content we made to go along with the episode:

https://youtu.be/huJQXz_fj9c 

USA Voter Information: https://www.usa.gov/voting

And if you’d like to know which policies are worrying us — and Tahlequah…

Books on Amazon

**Amazon links are affiliate links and support our podcast, thanks for clicking!

· The Killer Whale Who Changed the World  

· Orcas Everywhere

Timecodes

  • 0:00– Intro
  • 0:45– Interview with Tahlequah
  • 1:10– Tahlequah’s thoughts on off-shore drilling
  • 1:27– Who Tahlequah is voting for
  • 2:13– Where you can find information on how to vote
  • 2:40– One last word from Tahlequah

Skaana (skaanapod) host Mark Leiren-Young (leirenyoung) talks Tahlequah and expectant southern resident orcas on the Adam Stirling Show (Adam_Stirling) on CFAX radio (@cfax1070).
“This was the story that captured the imagination of the entire world” – Mark Leiren-Young

Skaana connects you to stories about oceans, eco-ethics and the environment.

Skaana home….. skaana.org
“Your Magical Week” – meditation with Rayne Benu…. digital-enlightenment.net
Twitter…………… https://twitter.com/skaanapod
The Killer Whale Who Changed the World… http://amzn.to/2pRNU1q 

Photo by SR3 and NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 2019 and SR3 and SEA in 2020, collected under NMFS research permit 19091

Support Mark Leiren-Young

Books on Amazon

**Amazon links are affiliate links and support our podcast, thanks for clicking!

Music:

Ken Dunn – Tahlequah