HOW DONATIONS TO THE AMERICAN CETACEAN SOCIETY, PUGET SOUND CHAPTER (ACS/PS) HELP WHALES, DOLPHINS, AND PORPOISES

What makes ACS/PS unique? and Why Help?

• ACS/PS is the only local whale conservation group that awards research grants to college students. ACS/PS has funded studies on harbor porpoise distribution, river dolphins in Bangladesh, and the effects of anthropogenic (manmade) noise on Southern Resident killer whales. Your donations to our Grant Fund support significant work by promising students.
  
  
• ACS/PS sponsors the Vashon Hydrophone Project (VHP) for Puget Sound whale research. The VHP’s underwater microphone off the west side of Vashon Island is currently the only one in lower Puget Sound dedicated to Southern Resident orca research and conservation. To date, every dollar donated to the VHP has been matched with in-kind contributions. Your donations to the VHP will help us achieve our goal of installing another hydrophone off the east side of Vashon.
  
  
• ACS/PS Board members volunteer hundreds of hours annually to share their expertise about whales, dolphins, porpoises and marine ecosystems with students, teachers, researchers, naturalists, and the general public at schools, conferences, and other community events. Your donations go toward program needs, not salaries.
  
  
• ACS/PS offers a free monthly Speaker Series featuring eminent whale scientists, conservationists, educators, authors, and artists. Your donations help with rental fees and travel expenses for speakers.
  
  
• ACS/PS was a charter member of the Orphan Orca Fund, a coalition of whale conservation groups that collaborated with NOAA Fisheries, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Vancouver Aquarium on an unprecedented plan to rehabilitate and reintroduce Springer (A73) to her Northern Resident orca community. From acoustic and behavioral monitoring to fundraising and public education, many ACS/PS Board members and scientific advisors contributed to Springer’s rescue and relocation. Your donations helped Springer go home.
  
  
• ACS/PS values diversity. Several active chapter members are Native American. ACS/PS has featured First Nations speakers at our conferences and in our Speaker Series. Makah Elder Alberta Thompson spoke about her opposition to her tribe’s gray whale hunt in 1999.
  
  
• Through ACS National, ACS/PS is the only local whale conservation group with representation at the annual International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting.
  
  
• ACS Cetacean Fact Sheets and cetacean curriculum are widely used by teachers and environmental educators. For more information, visit ACS National's web site at www.acsonline.org.