Protection plan stalls for rare Gulf whale

Region’s congressional leaders voice concerns about jobs, military
A dead Rice’s whale washed up on a Florida beach in 2019. It was found to have been killed by a plastic fragment lodged in its stomach. (National Park Service photo)
A dead Rice’s whale washed up on a Florida beach in 2019. It was found to have been killed by a plastic fragment lodged in its stomach. (National Park Service photo)

The first significant effort to protect the habitat of an exceedingly rare Gulf of Mexico whale is getting pushback from several members of Congress who represent the Gulf Coast region. A plan from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would designate just over 28,000 square miles of the Gulf as critical habitat for the approximately 50 remaining Rice’s whales. A final review of the …