On Saturday, activists were heartened by Sen. Maria Cantwell's promise of a "new Luna development" to be announced here Sunday.

Speculation centered on the possibility that U.S. funds will be made available for the relocation effort.

The rationale? Luna is a member of a U.S. orca community - L-pod, part of the struggling southern resident population that spends summer and fall chasing salmon near the San Juan Islands.

"Tomorrow we should find out how the senator has been able to address this challenge," said Fred Felleman of Orca Conservancy.

Federal funds for orca conservation and rescue would likely originate with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or its subsidiary, the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"But we have to get everyone on board," Cantwell spokeswoman Charla Neuman said Saturday. The U.S. agencies must have support from Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans "for any cooperative effort," especially one that begins in Canada.

She declined to get specific about what Cantwell will announce, but said NMFS Regional Director Bob Lohn will attend, along with officials from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

She did disclose that the Navy has agreed to "help tag and track Luna" if he's relocated in U.S. waters.

It was not clear if the Navy would undertake the work directly or delegate it to others, but "they would take responsibility for that" and provide a high-tech tracking tag, she said.

The Navy would also provide information it gathered on Luna to various research groups, she said.

Could the relocation occur this year?

"It depends," Neumann said. "It depends on how quickly everyone can move."

Four-year-old Luna has been bothering boats in Nootka Sound on the west side of British Columbia's Vancouver Island for nearly 2½ years, apparently trying to befriend them.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans concluded early this month that he should be moved - for boaters' safety and his own.

DFO then invited private groups to offer proposals - both for the move and fund-raising to implement it. On Thursday, the agency said two groups had offered viable plans but "neither has the funding."

The two groups are the Vancouver Aquarium and the new Seattle-based non-profit Global Research and Rescue. GRR is made up of people involved in last year's successful move of orphaned Canadian killer whale Springer after she wandered into busy Puget Sound.

Aquarium scientists also were involved. Each group has proposed taking the lead of an effort involving cooperation of the other.

DFO's requirements for the move call for Luna to be moved south to Pedder Bay near Victoria and held there in a net pen until he makes contact with his family. If no contact is made, he would be held until spring, when the situation would be reexamined.

When DFO disclosed the funding woes Thursday, GRR's Bob McLaughlin said a delay until spring might be best.

L-pod sometimes stays in area waters until February but also has departed as early as mid-October, which would prevent a reunion, McLaughlin said Saturday.

He also said there was a lot of luck - and more time - involved in the seeming "slam-dunk" success of relocating Springer.

On Saturday, McLaughlin surmised an attempt could still be made this year.

"If there's an actual possibility of being successful, we're behind it," McLaughlin said. "If it's hurry up just for politics, we'll reassess our position. That's where we have to defer to the experts."

Felleman, who had pressed for Navy involvement and still hopes for an expanded Navy role, said Luna's prospects of reuniting with his family this winter would be considerably improved if he were simply released in U.S. waters - the "pluck-and-drop" option.

So far U.S. officials have opposed that option.

Even if the plan fails, it will help advance U.S.-Canadian cooperation on these "transboundary" animals, he said.

There are concerns about whether Luna will rejoin his pod after more than two years away. His mother, still living, has a new calf.

Activists worry Luna could be hurt in Nootka Sound. People there are becoming more frustrated with the one-ton youngster, and there have been threats that he will be shot if he is not removed.

Paul Spong of Orcalab on Vancouver Island called on the Canadian government to free up some funds for the move.

"DFO has created, or at least exacerbated, the problem by waiting so long," he said.

DFO officials did not return calls for comment Saturday.