financial cooperation of federal agencies and multiple organizations in two countries, as well as the consent of the First Nations. Capturing and moving an orca risked further stress and injury. Local media continued to cover the crisis intensively, with advocates still demanding immediate government action to save the whale, as Springer's health was deteriorating and her dangerous attraction to boats and people (and people to Springer) increasing. The prospect of federally protected young orca washing up dead on one of Seattle's most-visited beaches grew every day. In late February, NMFS convened a panel of experts to discuss what to do. Brian Gorman of NMFS called the decision "a thorny one," but added that letting nature take its course "realistically is not an option. She's in a very public location. People will want to feed her." Despite laws prohibiting the removal of any wild whale in Puget Sound to a marine aquarium, some activists continued to argue in the local media against a rescue, concerned that human intervention would lead to a life in captivity for the orca. Others assured that protections were in place to prevent that from happening. Monitoring program As the debate continued, NMFS urged the public to keep away from Springer, and officially authorized a volunteer, on-the-water monitoring project proposed by three Washington-based nonprofit organizations possessing the marine vessel resources to keep track of the calf — The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, Washington, and Project SeaWolf. The highly experienced non-government monitoring team took shifts monitoring Springer and keeping the public away. But the growing number of onlookers were making the effort unsustainable. As time went on and the orca's prognosis worsened, the idea of directly intervening on behalf of Springer and returning her to her family in Canada was soon catching on. Public opinion was now strongly in favor of rescuing the orca, and to do everything possible to keep her out of a concrete tank. On March 13, KOMO-TV (ABC Seattle) reported a "ground-breaking coalition," announcing that Orca Conservancy, the Keiko team and Vancouver Aquarium had tentatively agreed to combine their plans—the only ones submitted to NMFS that called for rehabilitation in a seapen and an expedited translocation and repatriation to her natal pod. The organizations reportedly had agreed to "pool their resources" on behalf of Springer, including a pledge the Keiko team secured from a private, anonymous donor to fund the entire project. Upon