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The Columbia River is home to several species of salmon, including Chinook, Sockeye, Steelhead, Coho, and Chum. These fish have been the keystone of ecological, economic, and cultural stability in the Pacific Northwest. However, although the Columbia has hosted as many as 11 million fish during the annual salmon run, several factors have now conspired to bring that count down to less than 2 million:

• Salmon fishing was at one time a huge industry in the Pacific Northwest. Ironically, due to over-fishing in the first half of the 1900s, the industry has in part caused its own demise.
• Attempts to restock the Columbia River have proven difficult because fish raised in hatcheries and then released into the river tend to alter the genetic stability of wild populations.
• Dams built for the production of hydroelectric power create a barrier for fish during the annual spawning migration. Although several mechanisms have been constructed to help guide the fish through and around the dams, these means have not proven efficient for some species.
• The altered aquatic habitat brought about by farming, mining, road construction, and industrial pollution has also played a significant role in the decline in salmon numbers.

Native American populations, which are economically as well as culturally dependent upon salmon, have together formed the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC). This commission has developed a salmon restoration plan called Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit, meaning “Spirit of the Salmon.” Its goal is to work with government and industry leaders over a 25-year period to rebuild salmon populations.

Questions

1. Why did scientists devise methods to aid the passage of salmon through and around the dams on the Columbia River?
2. How do you think stocked salmon disrupt natural wild populations? How do scientists track the progress of wild and stocked salmon populations?
3. The decline in salmon populations has had a huge impact on human endeavors as well as on other wildlife. What other wildlife might be affected by fluctuations in salmon population size?

Assignments

1. Explain the difference between a “threatened” and an “endangered” species. Into which category do salmon fall?
2. Research how farming and mining, in addition to fishing, might affect the ecological stability of the Columbia River.
3. Form two groups to debate the economic, ecological, and cultural issues associated with CRITFC’s large-scale restoration project. One group should represent industry leaders and another tribal interests.

References

Lichatowich, Jim. 1999. Salmon Without Rivers: A History of the Pacific Salmon Crisis. Island Press.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com

http://www.critfc.org/

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