SEATTLE (AP) - A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit in which building and farm groups had challenged the federal listing of Puget Sound's resident killer whale population as an endangered species.

U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly dismissed the lawsuit, filed by the Building Industry Association of Washington and the Washington Farm Bureau, with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

The BIAW and the farm bureau failed to prove they had standing in the case - that is, they failed to prove "perceptible harm" from the listing, Zilly wrote.

Their standing had been challenged by environmental groups represented by Earthjustice, an environmental law group.

"I think the holidays have come a little bit early for orcas in Puget Sound," said Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda. "I think it's unfortunate that the Building Industry Association of Washington has a different vision of Puget Sound - and that vision is one that doesn't include orcas."

"We're surprised," said lawyer Russell C. Brooks with the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented the plaintiffs.

No decision has been made on whether to appeal, Brooks said.

"Another option is to bring a suit with a single particular landowner or builder that has been injured specifically by this listing," he said.

"I think it's a sad state of affairs when you have environmental players who can claim some sort of spiritual connection to whatever species du jour of the day is concerned, but yet you have people who are seeking to make an honest living and apparently their concerns won't get them in the courthouse door," Brooks said.

The National Marine Fisheries Service listed the whales for protection in November 2005.

The lawsuit said the listing "will result in needless water and land use restrictions on Washington farms, especially those located near rivers inhabited by salmon," the orcas' prime food source. "As a result, farmers could face fines and even imprisonment for the most basic farm practices should such actions allegedly disturb salmon." Environmentalists called that scenario far-fetched.

The lawsuit hinged on a technical point.

The three orca pods that live in Western Washington's inland waters from late spring to early fall are a distinct population of a subspecies, the Northern Pacific resident orcas, which include orcas off Alaska and Russia.

The plaintiffs alleged that the Endangered Species Act applies only to a distinct population of a species - not a subspecies.

"Just because there are orcas elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean doesn't mean we're willing to live without them in Puget Sound," Earthjustice attorney Patti Goldman said when the lawsuit was filed.

Puget Sound's southern resident orcas - which consist of the J, K and L pods, or families - are genetically and behaviorally distinct from other killer whales, all sides agree. The pods use their own language, mate only among themselves, eat salmon rather than marine mammals and show a unique attachment to the region.

The three pods now total 85 whales - down from historical levels of 140 or more in the last century, but up from a low of 79 in 2002. They've experienced three periods of decline since the late 1960s and early '70s, when dozens were captured for aquariums. Each decline has been followed by a slight rebound.

Pollution and a decline in prey - the region's salmon runs also are protected under the endangered species law - are believed to be their biggest threats, although stress from whale watching tour boats and underwater sonar tests by the Navy are also concerns.

Late last month, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued its recovery plan for the whales. It said its goals will include supporting salmon restoration, cleaning up contaminated sites in Puget Sound, working to reduce pollution, evaluating and improving guidelines for vessel traffic in and around protected areas and preventing oil spills and improving response plans should spills occur.

The agency also designated critical habitat for the orcas: an area covering about 2,500 square miles, encompassing part of Haro Strait and the waters around the San Juan Islands, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and all of Puget Sound.