Wise Elder Matriarch J2 Granny

We can’t talk about Lasting Legacies without honoring the legendary J2 Granny. She was the undisputed matriarch of the Southern Resident orcas and the leader of a five-generation family. She died in 2016 at an estimated age between 80 and 100 years old, a longevity we rarely see in the Southern Residents today.

Granny was born decades before the steep population decline, long before there was an Endangered Species Act. For years, she led her family through waters that were free of contaminants and filled with plentiful salmon. Her knowledge of safe waters and when and where to find food was passed down through her family, and still guides the whole population - not just a lasting legacy, but a living one. Our hope is that with stronger recovery actions and protections like the ESA, Granny’s descendants will once again swim in healthy waters and live long, happy lives.

Check out the story below about Granny, written by long-time naturalist and educator, Caroline Armon.

J2 Granny ©Caroline Armon.

Wise Elder Matriarch J2 Granny

My first profound encounter with J2 Granny happened early in my career, as a Marine Naturalist on the Salish Sea. It’s summer in the year 2000. I’m standing behind a group of people on the tour boat’s side-deck as we watch Granny’s family of 4 generations swim north up San Juan Channel. Part of my job is to interpret the behavior of these Orca for the group of tourists onboard. An elder woman standing in front of me shares that she is the same age as Granny, and is also a great-grandmother. Standing next to her is a young woman, a new mother holding her baby. The baby starts to cry and the great-grandmother and I reassure the flustered mom, who is worried the baby is bothering other people, and is about to take the baby into the boat cabin when Granny leaves her family and swims up next to the boat, right below us. She slowly spy-hops raising her head out of the water and slowly turning, gazes at each of us, straight into our eyes. Then she slowly sinks back down into the water and swims back to her family. Time stops, freeze-frame moments. I don’t remember if the baby stopped crying, we were all stunned. The depth, the awareness, the sentient being we shared eye contact with in Granny’s soulful eye is indescribable, beyond words, an unforgettable encounter that endeared Granny to me and all. I wish I too could echolocate: send and receive three dimensional photographic and x-ray-like information, as Granny can. I can only imagine her perception of us humans. She recognized the distress in that crying baby, she came and comforted us. It was a dream come true for that other great-grandmother, and an extraordinary story for that baby who is now grown up. Granny responded to a natural sound of universal communication. It was an interspecies connection that still inspires my advocacy.

I have so many memories of Granny leading her family, her J-pod, and all the pods- she was the matriarch of the clan of Southern Resident killer whales. She was often with the first group of whales sighted. On one perfect July day, sunny and warm, tall ships sailing in San Juan Channel, there were reports of Orca in Rosario Strait. As we approached the strait, a thick marine fog lay on the water and reduced visibility. We heard the powerful breathing of the whales echoing long before we saw them. The sun melted the fog and there were Orca everywhere the eye could see. It was a super-pod: the entire clan, 85 whales at that time, spread out in families and groups. That summer day J1 Ruffles appeared to be in the lead of the clan as they swam south along the eastern shores of Lopez Island. Then Granny surfaced in front of Ruffles and took the lead. Approaching the end of Lopez, the super-pod had to decide whether to continue south, or make a right turn into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and head west. Matriarch Granny turned right and all 84 whales followed her.

Granny seemed to give Ruffles his space as he would often be out in mid-channel while Granny and her grandchildren would be close together near shore. Another beautiful, scenic summer day, we were drifting in calm waters while J-pod families leisurely swam down Boundary Pass. As we observed a steady stream of whales, I remember wondering: where were Granny and Ruffles? She wasn’t with the first group. Then we saw she was at the end of the J-pod stream by herself, and Ruffles was another mile behind all by himself. As Granny was passing us, she abruptly turned around and sped swam back to Ruffles. He joined her and they both rapidly swam side by side, leaving a whale wake, until they caught up with the rest of J-pod. Powerful and agile, looking like the dolphins they are. (Science classifies orca as the largest member of the dolphin family, all these common and scientific names can be so confusing.) We definitely sensed Granny’s in charge, she was the clan eldest.

In the autumn of 2014, while at Lime Kiln Point State Park, we watched Granny leading the way once again, traveling north scanning Haro Strait for salmon. She turned back south and dove playfully, turning upside down and rolling around in the bull kelp beds near shore by the lighthouse. Did Granny feel the wonder from all of us by the lighthouse, absorbed by her presence? Or did she come by to grace the bride and groom and their guests sitting mesmerized on the rocks? Delaying their wedding ceremony until Granny continued on her way.

Granny heard, felt, touched, saw, and knew more than any other Southern Resident Orca. She had so much experience, awareness of ocean life, and history to share and teach her clan. She witnessed being shot at, captures and deaths of her relatives and community members, declining salmon, declining habitat, toxins in the water, and increasing noise, all impacting their lives and their acoustically oriented world. Yet she still breached and played in her last years, shared salmon with her family in her last days, lives on in the 5 generations and community she was part of, and our memories.

The Willamette & Rogue

For our final week of Orca Action Month’s “Stream to Sea” we continue down the coast to the southern range of the Southern Resident orcas.

View of Cannon Beach in Oregon with Haystack Rock in the background. ©Marisa Estivill

Willamette River:

The Willamette River in Oregon is part of the Columbia River Basin, contributing 15% of the Columbia’s average annual flow. It flows north for 187 miles and is the largest watershed in Oregon, draining 11,487 square miles. Willamette River spring Chinook are part of the Columbia Basin spring returns and therefore were historically important to Southern Resident orcas.

The Willamette Valley is home to 2/3 of Oregon’s population and it has been heavily impacted by development, urbanization, and industrialization. Pollution is a major concern with high levels of heavy metals, PCBs and pesticides, particularly in the section around Portland which was designated a Superfund site in 2000.

The river is heavily dammed, with 15 large dams and multiple smaller ones on some of the river’s tributaries. The primary function for most of these dams is hydroelectricity, while some provide important flood control and water storage. Poor fish passage at these dams, along with loss of habitat, have negatively impacted salmon. While historical abundance was close to 300,000 spring Chinook, recent averages are fewer than 5000 fish.

In 2008, Willamette Riverkeeper designated the full length of the river as the Willamette River Water Trail, which was then made official and expanded by the National Park Service in 2012.

Significant habitat restoration projects have taken place along the river, and the Willamette River Greenway System now includes over 10,000 acres along the river, most owned by Oregon State Parks.

Rogue River Canyon in southwest Oregon. Creative Commons

Rogue River Watershed, USGS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Rogue River:

The Rogue River in Southwest Oregon flows 215 miles from the Cascade Mountain Range to the Pacific Ocean and drains 5156 square miles. The river contains several salmon and steelhead runs, including spring and fall Chinook, summer and winter steelhead, and Coho. Both spring and fall Chinook salmon are included in the Southern Resident Killer Whale Priority Chinook stocks report, and spring Chinook returns overlap when the whales are primarily off the Oregon Coast in the late winter and early spring. Coho in the Rogue River are currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and spring Chinook are “potentially at risk.”

While returns are still below desired target levels and fluctuate on an annual basis, generally the status of Spring Chinook is gradually improving.

The river has a long history of dam construction and removal, including a legendary incident involving an early fish-blocking dam that was blown up by vigilantes who were upset by the impacts to salmon. Concentrated dam removal efforts began along the river in the early 2000s, and by 2009, all but one of the main-stem dams had been removed. The one remaining is the William L. Jess Dam which is used for flood control and hydroelectric. It lies 157 miles inland and there are no salmon above that dam. Current ongoing issues in the Rogue River include pollution from stormwater and wastewater runoff, climate change and drought. Since flows in the river are generally quite low, extremes from climate change can be devastating.

The Rogue River is one of the original eight rivers included in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, which is meant to preserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition. In 2019, 140 additional miles of tributaries were added to the designation.

Sources/resources:

http://willamette-riverkeeper.org/basicsfacts

Where Do The Southern Resident Orcas Go When They Leave the Salish Sea?

This week, we travel out of the Salish Sea into the Pacific Ocean to explore some important habitat in the coastal waters off British Columbia and Washington.

Swiftsure Bank is an area of rich, productive water off the coast of Vancouver Island. It is located about 15 miles west of the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where deep submarine canyons meet the continental shelf. As currents rise from the canyons they bring cold nutrient-rich waters to the shallow bank. This upwelling becomes the basis for plankton which in turn supports a diverse ecosystem that includes many species of fish. Many salmon migrate through Swiftsure Bank on their way to the Salish Sea, making it an important foraging area for resident orcas, and acoustic data has shown that Southern Residents are present there in all months of the year.

In 2018, Canada added Swiftsure Bank to Southern Resident orca critical habitat, which is defined as "the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species.” In recent years, J, K, and L Pods have been spending more time at Swiftsure Bank during the summer months, and fewer days in their core summer habitat around the San Juan and Gulf Islands as Fraser River Chinook has continued to decline. Many people believe that these inland waters are important to the Southern Residents not just as a traditional source of prey, but for cultural reasons as well, and that their decreased presence here may have long term effects on their social structure and culture. While their absence is keenly felt, the fact that they are foraging at Swiftsure Bank during the summer, and seemingly finding abundant food is a comfort. Hopefully this prey source will continue to sustain them until we can restore the Salish Sea salmon runs to a level that will allow Southern Residents to thrive here once again.

Further south, off the coast of Washington several rivers and streams flow from the Olympic mountains to the Pacific Coast. Salmon runs in these rivers are currently relatively stable and while a number of spring Chinook runs on the west coast are in decline, they still have a good chance of recovery with robust restoration efforts. In a 2018 report by NOAA Fisheries and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Coast stock was listed a priority Chinook stock for Southern Resident orcas. This stock includes Chinook salmon from the Hoh, Queets, Quillayute, and Chehalis Rivers, as well as additional small rivers that flow into Grays Harbor.

To determine priority stocks, the report looked at three evaluation factors, including: observed part of Southern Resident diet; salmon consumed during reduced body condition or diversified diet; and spatio-temporal overlap between Chinook salmon and Southern Residents. The purpose of the report was to ”identify Chinook salmon stocks that are important to Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) to assist in prioritizing actions to increase critical prey for the whales.” Combined with additional research, this report could be an effective tool to determine where restoration and protection efforts might be most beneficial at increasing prey for the Southern Resident orcas.

Sources:

Riera, 2012. Patterns of seasonal occurrence of sympatric killer whale lineages in waters off Southern Vancouver Island and Washington State, as determined by passive acoustic monitoring

www.nps.gov.

Southern Resident Killer Whale Priority Chinook Stocks Report 2018.