Whales and Habitat Preservation

Whales and Habitat Preservation: "The Issue Every winter, thousands of California Gray Whales migrate from the Arctic Ocean to Mexico, where they breed, give birth, and raise their calves. Many of these whales go to the lagoons of the Vizcaino Desert Biosphere Reserve in Baja California Sur, an area protected by the Mexican government because of its environmental significance. Now the most pristine and important of these lagoons, Laguna San Ignacio, is threatened by a salt company's proposal to expand its operations there. This expansion will most likely have adverse effects on the ecosystem and may disrupt the whales' migration patterns and behavior. The salt company, Exportadora de Sal, is 51 percent owned by the Mexican government and 49 percent owned by the Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan"