To Save the World’s Most Endangered Killer Whale, You Need to Save Its Dinner

Groundbreaking research finds that imperiled Chinook salmon are crucial to the survival of Southern Resident orcas. Published on takepart and Yahoo News Jan. 15, 2016 The survival of the world’s most endangered killer whales may hinge on whether another species threatened with extinction can also be saved. A new study has definitively shown for the first […]

Climate Change: Idaho Could Be Safe Haven for Native Fish

Eric Barker Lewiston Tribune Dec. 30, 2015 Idaho’s vertical geography may give salmon, steelhead and other native fish a fighting chance as climate change continues to alter their habitat for the worse.  Scientists say resident fish like cutthroat trout and bull trout will still have plenty of clean, cool water in the Gem State. The […]

‘Record salmon runs’ actually a decline

Idaho Statesman / Guest Opinion By Don Chapman Dec. 7, 2015 Propagandists for the lower four Snake River dams like to depict recent salmon returns as “record runs.” Most recently, Lt. Col. Tim Vail, of the Corps of Engineers, spoke of “record” salmon runs when he touted dam benefits. This self-serving assessment demands careful review. “Record runs” […]

Smithsonian: Removing a Dam Can Be a Net Win for the Planet

Americans have been building dams to harness rivers for energy production, irrigation, flood control and water storage since the late 1800s. To fuel a growing appetite for electricity, dam building reached a crescendo around World War II. At the time, hydropower provided three-quarters of the West’s electricity and one-third of the country’s, according to the […]

Special December 12th Screening of Damnation with a Q&A Following the Film

More info can be found here. This powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Dam removal has moved beyond the fictional Monkey Wrench Gang to go […]

The Case for Breaching the Four Lower Snake River Dams to Recover Wild Snake River Salmon

Prepared by: Carl Christianson, Biologist, retired USACE; Sharon Grace, Attorney; Jim Waddell, P.E., retired USACE This report was sent to the following officials in early November 2015: Senator Patty Murray Senator Maria Cantwell Governor Jay Inslee LTG Thomas P. Bostick–USACE Jo-Ellen Darcy–USACE Eileen Sobeck–NOAA Sally Jewell–Secty, Dept of Interior Christy Goldfuss–CEQ Sonya L. Baskerville–DOE/BPA Rep. Hans Dunshee–WA […]

Save southern resident orcas while we can

The Olympian Letter to the Editor Christina M. Price, Rochester I just finished reading “Into Great Silence” by Eva Saulitis about a pod of 22 transient orcas that frequented Prince William Sound. The pod will become extinct in our lifetime because of the Exxon Valdez disaster. We are the stewards of three resident pods of […]

Newborn Orca ‘Baby Boom’ Depends Upon Our Breaching Deadbeat Dams

Brenda Peterson Huffington Post Blog “It’s rare with any endangered species to rejoice–but the birth of six new orca whale calves this year to the J, K, and L pods has the Pacific Northwest breaching for joy. In any culture, we celebrate long-awaited births with gifts. What can we offer these orca families to commemorate […]

Can a Fish Save a Whale?

Leda Huta Endangered Species Coalition “Yet they [Southern Resident Killer Whales] face a major problem — a lack of food. The mighty rivers of the West — including the Columbia Snake River watershed, a key source of Chinook — have been broken. Though the Columbia Snake once brought salmon all the way from inland northern Nevada to the Pacific Ocean, today […]