Oregon adds southern resident orcas to endangered species list [Video]

PORTLAND, Ore. — Southern resident orcas are now considered an endangered species in Oregon, thanks to a vote by the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday.

These orcas have long faced extinction and were added to the federal endangered species list in 2005 and also classified as endangered in both Canada and Washington state.

“This all started with a petition to list the species from three environmental organizations,” explained Tara Brock, Pacific counsel for Oceana, an ocean conservation organization. “This has been under consideration for about a year now, and today was the final action by the commission to adopt that listing under state law.”

The three protection groups that lobbied for the species’ protection were the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and Whale and …