Seattle Conservationist Appointed as Executive Director of Orca Relief Citizens Alliance

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - January 31, 2017) - Orca Relief Citizens Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of Scott West as its new Executive Director. Past Executive Director Bruce Stedman has stepped down after 20 years of service and a relocation to the East Coast. West's prior work with the Environmental Protection Agency and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will be an asset to Orca Relief as it continues to seek support of its petition for the Whale Protection Zone Proposition and work toward the full recovery of Puget Sound's Southern Resident Killer Whales.

Orca Relief is a co-sponsor of the Whale Protection Zone Proposition, which was recently added to the Federal Register and is now open for public comment during a 90-day period ending April 13, 2017, through the Administrative Procedure Act process.

"Taking the helm at Orca Relief is an honor and a perfect opportunity to utilize my skills in service to the place we call home," said Scott West, a retired Special Agent-in-Charge at the Environmental Protection Agency and former Director of Intelligence and Investigations with Sea Shepherd.

"Scott West has spent his career defending the environment and protecting whales from death by human cause. He is ideally suited to become Orca Relief's new Executive Director as we move to establish the first Whale Protection Zone for our endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales," said Mark Anderson, Founder of Orca Relief Citizens Alliance, CEO and Chairman of Strategic News Service (SNS), and Founder and Chairman of the annual Future in Review (FiRe) conference.

Orca Relief Citizens Alliance is a volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on recovering the population health of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. Orca Relief relies on the best available science to demonstrate what must be done to protect and recover J, K, and L pods, particularly from the noise and stress they experience from commercial motorized whale-watch boats and the many private boats they attract. Orca Relief is dedicated to creating a Whale Protection Zone on the west side of San Juan Island, Washington state, to provide a safe haven that will assist the Puget Sound's endangered Orca in their recovery.

Websites: www.orcarelief.org, www.stratnews.com