(Plymouth, MA, USA)—WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, has teamed with US based conservation groups today challenged the U.S. Navy’s decision to build its $100 million Undersea Warfare Training Range next to the only known calving ground for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

“Right whales shouldn’t be subjected to the threats that accompany this range – ship strikes, entanglement and noise disturbance -  in the only place in the world where  vulnerable females give birth to and care for their calves,” said Catherine Wannamaker, an attorney with Southern Environmental Law Center. “While we recognize the Navy’s need to train, there are ways to accommodate that need without introducing multiple risks of harm into such a sensitive area.”

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