Understanding the Impacts of Military Training on Southern (California) Residents

The Whale Museum’s Summer Lecture Series continues July 23 at 7:00 PM PT with Erin Falcone and Greg Schorr from Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research! Their lecture is entitled, “Understanding the Impacts of Military Training on Southern (California) Residents” and will be available to attend for free at The Whale Museum or streaming live on our YouTube channel.

The Southern Resident killer whales have taught us that where a whale spends its time can really affect its life history, especially if its home range overlaps with humans. But these aren’t the only whales that form small resident populations in areas with lots of human activities, and we need to understand our impacts on these often sensitive populations to ensure their viability. This talk presents ongoing work to understand the effects of military training- especially the use of powerful sonar systems- on a uniquely challenging whale species: the goose-beaked whale.

Erin Falcone and Greg Schorr founded Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, a small non-profit organization based in Seabeck, WA, to conduct conservation-driven marine mammal research. They lead a long-term study at a major US Navy training range in California to better understand the impact military activity has on local whale populations.

The live feed will be available here: https://www.youtube.com/live/LMcngfQd1eA

You may also like the following events from The Whale Museum:

• This Saturday, 26th July, 12:30 am, TWM 2025 Summer Hybrid Marine Naturalist Training Program in Friday Harbor, Washington
• Next month, 7th August, 09:00 am, 2025 Junior Marine Scientist Camp in Friday Harbor

Also check out other Workshops in Friday Harbor.