Orca Action Month Film Series: Counting Orca

The Stewardship Network of the San Juans kicks off the Orca Action Month Film Series with a free screening of Counting Orca (2025, 27 min.) — Thursday, June 4 at 7 PM at the San Juan Island Grange. 

The film traces the legacy of Dr. Kenneth C. Balcomb III, who began counting the Southern Resident killer whales in 1976 in what became the longest-running study of this endangered population, and whose words still echo today: "I'm not going to count them to zero, at least not quietly." The screening is followed by a Q&A with Center for Whale Research scientists Dr. Michael Weiss and David K. Ellifrit. Free to attend; $5 donation encouraged. Co-sponsored by the Friday Harbor Film Festival, San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau, The Whale Museum, Center for Whale Research, F.O.L.K.S. (Friends of Lime Kiln Society), and Friends of the San Juans.