Save Our Wild Salmon is a nationwide coalition of conservation organizations, commercial and sportsfishing associations, businesses, river groups, and taxpayer advocates working collectively to restore self-sustaining, abundant, and harvestable populations of wild salmon and steelhead to rivers, streams and oceans of the Pacific Salmon states.
Columbia salmon policy still driven by ideology, not science
Op-ed by Steven Hawley, August 21st, 2010
In Barack Obama's inspiring inaugural address, he promised to restore "science to its rightful place." Again in April 2009, before the National Academy of Sciences, Obama announced a new executive order with what he called a "clear message: the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over."
Around the Pacific Northwest, this vow was cause for cautious optimism. The Bush administration had politicized the science of salmon recovery, pressuring federal scientists to ignore or hide dam-driven effects on 13 populations of Columbia and Snake River salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act. That the new president was apparently turning the page on sketchy science gave many beleaguered salmon advocates hope.
Unfortunately, that "clear message" hasn't gotten through, and ideology, not science, is still leading decisions on Northwest salmon. As reported in the Los Angeles Times last month, federal fisheries biologists are still being pressured about their findings on the impacts of dams on salmon.
People like me, whose businesses depend on salmon fishing, are busy. August is the time to fish. Salmon returns have been good all year, and August is the Columbia River's peak month. It's also the best month for mothers and fathers to show their kids the value and joy of sport fishing.
I'm always amused at this time of year when the agencies that run the Columbia's dams crank up their public relations machines to take credit for better salmon numbers. I've seen it for 20 years: When salmon numbers rise, they take credit; when the numbers fall, they blame the ocean. Well, it looks different from my boat.
Ocean conditions are the biggest non-human factor in salmon numbers here. Those conditions have been friendly to salmon the last few years. But for the last five years, we've made a human change that's worked with the friendly ocean: Artificial barging and trucking of juvenile salmon has been cut by about half, and water has been spilled over the dams to get those young fish past all the concrete more safely. The salmon returning now had the benefit of more spill and less barging in 2007 and 2008 when they went to the ocean.
The basic science of dam spill is common sense: Operate the dammed river more like the river the salmon used to have. Let more salmon stay in it, and get them past dams using water rather than lots of human handling.
How did salmon get five straight years of spill? State and tribal scientists designed it. Fishermen, tribes and conservationists fought for it. And since 2006 federal District Court Judge James Redden has ordered it. The dam agencies? They've fought it every year. Full guaranteed spill has not been in any salmon plan from the Clinton, Bush or Obama administrations.
Salmon returns welcomed, but wild fish recovery lags
Fishermen give Judge Redden the credit for more fish and more jobs
For immediate release: August 5, 2010 -- Aided in large measure by court-ordered spill that makes the lower Snake River less lethal for out-migrating fish, returning populations of chinook and sockeye salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers have been encouraging this summer.
"The good news is, there are fish in the river and people have enjoyed fishing opportunities, fueled by the fish's response to spill, from the ocean off of Washington's coastline, to the lower Columbia, and all the way to central Idaho," said Liz Hamilton, Executive Director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. "The bad news is, the federal government has continued to attack the measure of spilling water at lower Snake River dams."
Hamilton said a primary reason for the improved returns of 2010 is extra spill ordered by U.S. District Court Judge James Redden, over the objection of federal agencies. This "Redden effect" helps baby salmon migrate from the mountains and streams of their birth to the Pacific Ocean. Now in its fourth year, it has produced corresponding increases in fish survival every year. Without a permanent order for spill, Hamilton worries for the future of her industry.
Even so, the Obama Administration's plan for endangered salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers rolls back that very spill and threatens to undermine any short-term gains that have been made over the last few years.
This summer, the Columbia-Snake River Basin is witnessing a very positive return of salmon and steelhead. Scientists credit favorable ocean conditions, along with the court-ordered spill of water over some of the basin’s dams, for swelling the ranks of fish.
The increases in spill (the good kind) — won in court by Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition members alongside the legal team at Earthjustice — helps many more baby salmon survive their epic migrations from mountain streams to the sea where they grow to adulthood. Scientists also credit this spill with significantly contributing to a chinook salmon return currently 140 percent above the 10-year average and a sockeye run breaking modern records.
For those working to restore vibrant runs of salmon to the Columbia-Snake, this year’s salmon returns offer a glimpse of what could be achieved if we follow science to protect what was once the world’s most productive salmon watershed. For the communities that rely on these fish, and for the durability of the Endangered Species Act, these returns should represent the floor, not the ceiling, as we assess the recovery of Columbia-Snake salmon and the economic, cultural, and ecosystem needs of the region.
The Columbia and Snake Rivers are slated to be the conveyor belt for one of the world's largest intentional environmental disasters.
An oil company focused on profits and a government failing its duties to people has reared a new threat to wild salmon and local communities. It comes in two parts – development of the Canadian oil sands beneath the boreal forests of northern Alberta, and Exxon's surprise plan to use the Columbia and Snake Rivers, plus Idaho and Montana highways, to ship huge mining machinery to those oil sands.
Scientists expected Obama administration to be friendlier
A culture of politics trumping science, many say, persists despite the president's promises. The use of potentially toxic dispersants to fight the gulf oil spill is cited as just one example.
By Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger, Tribune Washington Bureau
July 12th, 2010 - Excerpt:
"Federal scientists said they were pressured to minimize the effects they had documented of dams on struggling salmon populations." and later... "In the Pacific Northwest, Ruch said, his organization has heard in the last 16 months from multiple federal fisheries biologists who report that they are under pressure to downplay the impact of dams on wild salmon."
Yet another example (think tourism-rich Florida, which banned offshore drilling decades ago, vs. drill rig-happy Louisiana re: the BP Oil Spill) of how tourism can be just as fruitful--economically-speaking--as harming our earth for quick and dirty profit.
The below comes via Working Snake River:
In the conservation movement, it's crucial to remember that everything is always interconnected. Be it economics, social or environmental implications, one decision affects another--and often, in a big way. That's what's currently taking place in Washington State, where business and community leaders are taking a stand on an issue that relates to salmon, energy, agriculture, and transportation issues and has political implications for the state and the broader Pacific Northwest region. The effort is called Working Snake River, and it's a concentrated effort to bring citizens, businesses, and elected leaders together to restore salmon and steelhead and ensure economic prosperity for the state and regional economy.
So how do fish and economy go hand in hand?
"Salmon aren't just a part of our state's natural heritage, they are also important to our economy," said Jeremy Brown, commercial salmon troller and Washington Trollers Association board member. "Especially in our coastal and river communities, salmon has traditionally been a huge source of good jobs and income. The population declines of Columbia Basin salmon in the past several decades have taken a heavy toll on the health of our communities. It's time to sit down together to figure out how we can constructively address these issues for people on both sides of the mountains."
On Sunday, June 27th, videographer Skip Armstrong headed out to Dagger Falls and caught the following footage. At 5800 feet in elevation and about 700 miles inland, Dagger Falls is one of the more famous rapids along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River (tributary to the Snake River) which stretches through central Idaho's Sawtooth Moutain Range and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.
This region represents the largest and best protected salmon habitat in the lower 48 states. When we say one-of-a-kind salmon, one-of-a-kind habitat - this it it. Please enjoy the video and remember to Take Action.
June is Orca Month!
Check out the new video on Puget Sound orcas and Columbia-Snake salmon...
For immediate release: August 5, 2010 -- Aided in large measure by court-ordered spill that makes the lower Snake River less lethal for out-migrating fish, returning populations of chinook and sockeye salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers have been encouraging this summer.
