After months of heated public debate, a decision was made by the United States National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to capture the young orca and attempt to reintegrate her into her pod.

On July 13, after medical treatment and rehabilitation, Springer was transported to Johnstone Strait, BC and held in a seapen at Dong Chong Bay, Hanson Island.

[2] Springer has been observed with her pod in Johnstone Strait every year since her rescue and translocation, becoming the only orca in history to be successfully reintegrated into a wild population after human intervention.

[6] As advocates and researchers worked to identify this strange visitor to Seattle, grave concern arose over her presence in the waters off a major metropolitan area.

"The message we want to get out to boaters is, no matter how much you want to help this whale, do not approach it, don't feed it," Orca Conservancy representatives warned on KING-TV (NBC Seattle).

Orcas in the region's inner coastal waters take two forms, "resident" and "transient" (also known as Bigg's killer whales), two eco-types that are similar in appearance but have different diets and social structures and do not interbreed.

In February 2002, recordings and photographs of Springer in Puget Sound were sent to Paul Spong and Helena Symonds of OrcaLab and Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada biologist John Ford, who determined that the killer whale belonged to a group of around 215 killer whales known as the Northern Resident Community, ranging some 250 miles north, a group rarely seen in the Puget Sound area.

Some feared Springer might be removed to a captive-display facility, even though a Stipulation of Dismissal in the 1976 lawsuit of Washington v. Don Goldsberry, SeaWorld, et al legally prohibited marine parks from capturing wild orcas in Puget Sound.

Some argued that federal authorities should not intervene and rescue the young orca, even if the animal was likely to die alone in one of the most congested, contaminated waterways in North America, as scientists warned.

[citation needed] "It's going to be heart-breaking if we see the worst thing happen, which is to see her die," activist Donna Sandstrom of Orca Alliance (now head of the Washington state nonprofit The Whale Trail) explained on KING 5 News (NBC Seattle), "but we would rather bear that heartbreak than to know she's enduring it alone in a concrete tank.

"[10] Sandstrom became an outspoken critic of direct intervention by NMFS in the local media, often pitted against advocates calling for Springer's rescue and return to her family in British Columbia.

While advocates, researchers and scientists pushed since mid-January for immediate federal action to save this wayward whale, the beginning of March brought a new discord of opinions on the matter.

[11] Garrett's proposal of introducing regular human contact to a solitary, social, displaced orca in a major metropolitan area was considered by many scientists and advocates as potentially disastrous.

[citation needed] Another option the group presented to the National Marine Fisheries Service was to transport the orca aboard a high-speed hovercraft the Canadian Consulate believed it could source from its Coast Guard.

[15] The overriding component of all these rescue options was to minimize human contact and keep the orca in the water as much as possible, provide medical treatment and draw blood samples in situ (in the water), expedite medical tests and clearances with Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and target a speedy translocation and reintroduction in Johnstone Strait in July, when Springer's pod historically returns to its summer habitat.

[citation needed] As the weeks unfolded, NMFS officials chose not to intervene, stating it lacked both the funds and the confidence that a rescue, translocation and reunion was possible.

Returning Springer to her home waters would require the political, scientific, logistical and financial cooperation of federal agencies and multiple organizations in two countries, as well as the consent of the First Nations.

"[17] 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.

[citation needed] 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.

[15] 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.

[citation needed] Conservationists then presented an idea to NMFS — the Springer project could be funded by the newly established John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant, taking advantage of language inserted by Washington's Congressional delegation that provided "priority consideration for gray whale and orca strandings in the Pacific Northwest."

If the money were approved, Spong would help arrange an out-of-season fishing permit from DFO, and Namgis Chief Bill Cranmer would put together a boat and crew.

After much discussion, Barre agreed that NMFS would not oppose the Namgis contract, on the condition that OOF provide a metal detector at the seapen site to screen the wild salmon for fish hooks which could pose a danger to Springer.

When that was argued to be impractical, NMFS finally assented on a personal assurance from OOF members that they would be at the site when the salmon came in, physically inspecting the mouth of each fish for hooks prior to their placement into the seapen.

[23] On July 12, 2002, under the watch of news helicopters, Springer was lifted by crane from the holding pen and placed in a specially constructed shallow pool aboard the catamaran.

Springer was brought north through Puget Sound and Haro Strait, across the border and then to Campbell River, BC, where locals donated hundreds of bags of ice to help keep the orca cool.

The previous day, high-tech hydrophones were installed in Dongchong Bay by David Howitt and Michael Harris, to monitor acoustic interactions between Springer and wild whales.

Lance Barrett-Lennard, Senior Marine Mammal Scientist with the Vancouver Aquarium, said that it was clear Springer knew she was home, and that "her calls were so loud they practically blew our earphones off.

[31] John Nightingale, Director of the Vancouver Aquarium, stated on ABC World News Tonight With Peter Jennings, "I've been a fascinated spectator, watching these whales get used to each other and her integration into her larger family group.

[4] "That leaves no doubt the young whale was accepted by and is thriving with her pod," said environmental reporter Gary Chittim of KING 5 News (NBC Seattle).