Washington

Makah Tribe will again be allowed to hunt gray whales off Washington coast

Published

2 years ago

June 14, 2024

Makah Tribe will again be allowed to hunt gray whales off Washington coast

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Not since the spring of 1999 have members of the Makah Tribe filed into a cedar canoe and paddled off Washington’s coast to legally harpoon a gray whale, trailing its body back to shore for celebration and ceremony.

Even that hunt—controversial at the time—was the tribe’s first in more than seven decades.

But that’s about to change. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted the tribe a waiver of the Marine Mammal Protection Act on June 13, handing the Makah people a victory they’ve sought for a generation.

The waiver represents the end of decades-long frustration and stress, said TJ Greene, chairman of the Makah Tribe. It’s a cultural and historic success that belongs to the entire community, he said.

“This relieves a lot of tension,” Greene said in an interview with The Seattle Times. “We have a generation of people that didn’t have that opportunity and that takes a toll on us.”

Officials with NOAA said they share the tribe’s frustration over the drawn-out waiver process but celebrate its end. There are those who remain steadfast in their opposition to the hunt, though, and they do plan to keep fighting.

The earliest the tribe would be able to hunt is likely this fall, said Michael Milstein, a NOAA spokesperson. The tribe will have to apply for a permit to conduct each hunt, and as part of that process the administration will have to verify the population of gray whales and hold a public comment period.

Greene said hunters from the tribe will undergo a rigorous training process to ensure they only hunt whales approved under the waiver and do so safely. They plan to use the traditional cedar canoes and harpoon the whale but then use a firearm—likely a large-caliber rifle—for a quick and humane kill.

The tribe’s connection to the whales stretches back millennia and the tribe’s 1855 treaty with the federal government explicitly recognizes the right of members to conduct the hunts.

Not only is the hunt an important part of the tribe’s cultural and spiritual identity, Greene said, but the whales were also once a crucial portion of the community’s diet.

“This is a food sovereignty issue. This is part of our traditional diet that was ripped away from us,” he said. “We are needing that back into our lives, so we can be a healthy, vibrant and thriving community.”

In all, the waiver will allow the tribe to hunt up to 25 gray whales over a 10-year period. The total number of gray whales that can be hunted globally won’t change, however.

The current quota, regulated by the International Whaling Commission, splits the number of available whales between the Makah Tribe and the Chukotkan Natives in Russia, Milstein said. Under the waiver, the Makah Tribe will tap into the number of whales that had been previously transferred to Russia, and no more than two or three would be allowed to be hunted each year in U.S. waters.

While gray whales were once listed as an endangered species, their populations recovered enough for the federal government to take them off the list in 1994. They are still protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, however.

Generally, the population of gray whales along the West Coast is quite healthy, said Chris Yates, assistant regional administrator with NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. There are around 19,000 of them right now.

So the tribe’s right to hunt 25 whales over 10 years would effectively be an “undetectable” loss to the greater population, he said.

The hunts are opposed by the Animal Welfare Institute, said D.J. Schubert, a senior scientist with the nonprofit.

Other gray whale populations aren’t as numerous, some groups only have hundreds remaining, and Schubert expressed concern that a whale from the wrong pod could be killed.

In addition, climate change also threatens the whales, either directly or by cutting into their food sources, Schubert said, and the hunt would act as an added stressor to their populations.

He did acknowledge the tribe’s cultural connection to the process but spoke out against the hunts as a way of speaking on behalf of the whales.

“There is no easy solution here,” he said.

Yates said “extreme precautions” will be in place to prevent the killing of endangered groups of whales, and Greene said the tribe plans for its own processes to be even more rigorous than those required by the federal government.

Still, the Animal Welfare Institute plans to oppose the permits when the tribe applies, Schubert said, and the organization is open to exploring other legal avenues should that strategy fail.

The tribe is no stranger to the scrutiny. During the 1999 hunt, it had to close down the reservation because people called in bomb threats to tribal schools, Greene said. Ultimately, the National Guard had to be on standby.

“We don’t want to see those things happen again,” he said. “But there’s a likelihood that they could, so we’re prepared for that.”

Additional controversy erupted in 2007, when five tribal members illegally hunted and killed a gray whale; the animal was killed, but the hunters were detained before the whale could be brought to shore. Two of those members served time in jail for the incident.

Now that the hunt is once more legal, the tribe will develop security measures and work closely with law enforcement to make sure its people are safe throughout the process, Greene said.

Details will be worked out in the months ahead, Greene said. For the moment, the victory belongs not only to this generation, the chairman said, but to everybody that came before them, including those who fought for the right to hunt back in 1855.

2024 The Seattle Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Washington

IMPD adds third public safety camera along Washington St in three months

Published

4 hours ago

June 20, 2026

Press Room

IMPD adds third public safety camera along Washington St in three months

INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD has a new public safety camera downtown to help address crime or deter it altogether.

The technology is up and running at the intersection of W Washington Street and N Illinois Street. It’s the third camera to be installed along Washington Street in the last three months.

“We’ve had a lot of success with our cameras, using them with juvenile mitigation or violence crime reduction efforts to identify those people involved in crimes, and we’ve been able to make arrests because the cameras are there,” IMPD Downtown District Commander Shane Foley said. “If the cameras weren’t there, there’s certain situations we would not be able to make arrests.”

The other intersections that had cameras installed back in March previously had mobile surveillance units in place, but that wasn’t true for the Illinois Street location.

“Washington and Illinois is one of the most travelled parts of downtown and it’s important to have this tool to monitor activity,” Foley said. “We didn’t have a camera at this location at all, so that really emphasizes the importance of this location being added.”

The streams from the cameras are monitored by IMPD’s real-time crime center, but also by officers on the streets. The video can alert officers to incidents before 911 is even called.

“We have five different camera angles, and as you can see here, this can be used for traffic investigations,” Foley said while showing the stream from inside of his car. “If there was a crash or a pedestrian struck, this might help identify a vehicle involved in that incident.”

The Conrad Hotel on the corner paid to put the camera in place, an investment General Manager Ryan Fitzgerald hopes helps officers better secure the area.

”All the men and women that are down here making the city safe, it’s really important to us and we just wanted an opportunity to support that,” Fitzgerald said. “They do all the hard work, so anything we can do to support that effort is in the interest of all of our residents, our team members and our guests.”

Video from the cameras that don’t show criminal activity is thrown out after 30 days. IMPD is hopeful to further secure community partnerships to fund more cameras in the future.

“Ultimately, the goal of these cameras is to make downtown a safer place for people to work, live and visit,” Foley said.

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Washington

Washington Nationals vs. Tampa Bay Rays prediction, pick for Friday 6/19/26

Published

14 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Washington Nationals vs. Tampa Bay Rays prediction, pick for Friday 6/19/26

Keagan Smith gives you a preview, prediction and pick for today’s game between the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays on Friday’s MLB slate.

Did anyone have the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals competing for the MLB Postseason on their bingo cards? It’s June 19 and both these teams have winning records, but the ways they’ve gotten there are completely different. On Friday evening, this pitching-reliant Rays group squares off against the Nats’ formidable offense, setting up a fun battle at the Trop.

As the new series begins tonight at 7:40 p.m. ET, here’s a betting prediction and pick for this Nationals vs. Rays matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Nationals vs. Rays prediction, preview

Washington Nationals

The Nats are perhaps the most fun team in the entire MLB this season. With a group of talented young bats, they’ve cruised to a 39-36 record on the campaign with a +15 run differential, also going 6-4 over their last 10 games. The upside of this offense is immense, and if they can get the pitching figured out, we could be looking at a future power in the NL. Washington produces an MLB-best 5.43 runs per game with a .744 OPS that ranks fifth overall. The full slash line reads .247/.323/.421 with a .287 BABIP; tonight, the group faces a RHP with a split of .238/.311/.414 for a .725 OPS against similar handedness. It may be the lower of their splits, but the Nationals do have 73 of their 96 homers against righties. The club’s .174 ISO comes in at fourth in the sport, but a composite speed score of 6.0 also leads all other teams, too. Plus, a 21.0% K% and 8.9% BB% are solid-enough marks.

RHP Cade Cavalli was scheduled to start for the Nats today but has now been scratched due to illness. A new starter is currently TBD, but this section will be updated when the announcement is made. The bullpen’s numbers aren’t great though, sitting 24th in ERA at 4.71 with a 1.42 WHIP and 7.5% K-BB%.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays have dropped from the top spot in the AL East after a few rough weeks in June, now sitting 41-30 with a +5 run differential. However, momentum is not on their side after going 4-6 over their last 10 and dropping both of their last two series — one to the Angels and the other to the Dodgers. Their offense is good with 4.44 runs per game, but doesn’t quite have the elite upside of today’s opponent. Tampa Bay has a .713 OPS and a slash line of .255/.333/.379, and the club gets the better of its lefty/righty splits today at .259/.339/.393 for a .732 cumulative mark against right-handed pitching. That’s a positive, as is a BB/K ratio of 0.50 fueled by an MLB-best 19.1% K% and a 9.6% BB%. A .301 BABIP is nice to see, but a .124 ISO and 58 home runs this year leave much to be desired in terms of power. That’s the biggest weakness of this team by far, but they have hit 45 of those off a RHP.

RHP Griffin Jax gets the starting nod for Tampa Bay today. He’s 1-5 across 20 games and nine starts. His numbers include a 3.68 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP and 41 SO in 44.0 IP. He’s forced ground balls at an above-average rate and has seen positive results in terms of chase and whiff rate as well. The Rays’ bullpen has a 4.67 ERA that ranks 22nd with a 1.37 WHIP and 10.9% K-BB%.

Nationals vs. Rays pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Rays as -126 Moneyline favorites at home today. The Rays are underdogs at +104 odds to win outright with the run total set at eight.

Best Bet: WAS Nationals ML (+104)

A straight-up pick is the move tonight as we target the Nats for an outright win on the road. Here’s the logic. I like the Washington offense far more than Tampa Bay’s, especially as of late. The Nationals have an .840 OPS in the last two weeks with a .221 ISO, though that drops a smidge to .772 and .185 over the last seven days in particular. They’re just as productive as usual though, if not more so. On the opposite side, the Rays are dead last over the last week at a .609 OPS and an .088 ISO, and while their strikeout rate has remained the same as on the full year, the OBP has dropped and they’re hitting a paltry .216. Looking at the last two weeks, they’re still 25th in the league with a .676 OPS as well and below .100 in ISO once again at .097. Jax has been solid as per usual, but it hasn’t translated to wins yet this year and likely won’t against such a high-powered lineup.

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Washington

Storm Team4 Forecast: Much-needed morning rain before sunny afternoon

Published

1 day ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Storm Team4 Forecast: Much-needed morning rain before sunny afternoon

4 things to know about the weather:

Some needed rain early
Sunshine On the way
Nice, dry weekend
Stormy Monday

Most of the area will get at least some rain this morning but a cold front will push the rain out and bring the sunshine back by early this afternoon.

Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck of VA will get the most rain (1/4” to 1/2”) while the Shenandoah Valley will be lucky to get much more than a few hundredths of an inch. Southeast Virginia is likely to get over 1” of rain. I-95 travel South of Richmond, and I-64 towards Virginia Beach, could be slowed by the rain. Here in our area, the rain will be over by noon and sunshine will be making a quick return.

Steady, northwest winds will bring much lower humidity levels and ensure a beautiful weekend for all of the Capital Pride activities and Father’s Day on Sunday.

Afternoon highs will mostly be in the low/mid 80s today and Saturday and the mid/upper 80s on Sunday.

Better still, overnight lows tonight and Saturday night will fall into the 50s north and west of Dulles Airport and the low-60s in metro D.C.

Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.

Clouds will return late Sunday afternoon and rain chances will arrive late Sunday night. All of the forecast models are still showing a high chance for rain for Monday into Tuesday. This doesn’t look like a blockbuster event but rain totals of around 1/2” still look like a good bet.

All of our region is still in drought with extreme drought conditions for most of central Virginia and all of the Delmarva Peninsula. That Monday storm is pretty much our best chance for rain over the next 10-14 days. Thankfully, the long range temperature outlook is for daytime highs to stay in the 80s all the way through next week.