Solutions for Salmon in 2009!

Americans deserve a salmon plan that works for salmon, Northwest communities, and taxpayers nationwide. Changes in Washington DC have opened up an enormous opportunity to recover wild salmon, create jobs, and build a clean energy future.

Another Failed Plan?
Last spring, President Bush released his Administration's final federal salmon plan. Unfortunately, the "new" version looks a whole lot like the last two illegal ones - and it has again been challenged in court. The judge's ruling is expected as early as April.

Legislation
Salmon and fishing advocates are reaching out to members of Congress to introduce 'solutions' legislation in 2009 that will save salmon, invest in local communities, create regional jobs, protect taxpayer dollars, and promote clean energy.

We need your help today!
Contact your members of Congress right now and urge them to support legislation to protect and restore endangered wild salmon of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Urge them to stand up and craft solutions to recover this national treasure for future generations.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Recover Snake River Salmon. Create Jobs. Build a Clean Energy Future

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Wild pacific salmon are a national treasure - an awe-inspiring symbol of healthy rivers, good jobs, nutritious food, and thriving communities. The Snake and Columbia Rivers were once home to the largest salmon populations on the planet.

Today, however, many of these populations are facing extinction. The latest federal plan for the Columbia-Snake Basin perpetuates decades of ineffective federal policies and billions of taxpayer dollars that have failed to protect salmon and steelhead from declining toward extinction. We are in urgent need of a new approach that is firmly grounded in both good science and fiscal responsibility.

Four federal dams on the lower Snake River prevent salmon from surviving to return to some of the biggest, wildest, highest, coldest, healthiest and best-protected habitat remaining in the continental United States. These dams make the downstream migration of young salmon an untenably lethal one, killing as much as 90% of these Snake River fish before they ever reach the Pacific Ocean.

The science and economics are clear: any effective salmon plan must include the removal of these costly and out-dated dams. The federal government's current approach, which ignores the science supporting lower Snake River dam removal as part of a comprehensive suite of recovery measures, fails endangered salmon, fishing communities, and American taxpayers.

I strongly urge your leadership in Congress to craft legislation authorizing the removal of the four lower Snake River dams. This action must be part of a scientifically sound and fiscally responsible plan that will restore wild salmon, create jobs, save taxpayer dollars, revitalize communities, and ensure the survival of this national treasure for future generations. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to safeguard imperiled wild salmon. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
November 07, 2008


Background Information

Wild salmon and steelhead of the Columbia and Snake Rivers are a treasure to our nation and the Northwest's ambassadors to the world. Their epic voyage - traveling from a mountain stream to the far reaches of the Pacific Rim, only to return to that very stream in which they were born - is symbolic of the journeys we all make.

Yet these majestic fish cannot be reduced simply to symbols and icons. Salmon are essential to the economy, culture, and ecosystem of the Northwest. For centuries, wild salmon have supported rural communities and tribal cultures, stable jobs, world-renowned fishing opportunities and healthy food along the Pacific Coast and the inland West.

Salmon also act as a barometer for the Northwest ecosystem - their abundance describes the health of rivers and forests in which they flourish - their decline points to the challenges we face in restoring our backyards. In the Columbia-Snake basin the barometer points beyond decline and into crisis. Today, all runs of salmon and steelhead on the Snake River are either extinct or listed under the Endangered Species Act. The clock is ticking for these fish.

Right now, four outdated dams on the lower Snake River are holding back solutions to the crisis affecting salmon, salmon-dependent communities, and taxpayers nationwide. These four dams severely limit access to thousands of miles of pristine habitat that provide salmon the best chance at survival in a warming climate. After over $8 billion in US taxpayer dollars wasted on ineffective and illegal programs, the effects of this crisis can be felt across the country. The federal agencies in charge of managing this watershed continue to ignore the underlying fact: partial removal of the four lower Snake River dams is the best and most cost-effective way to recover wild salmon to abundance.

It is not too late to restore a free-flowing Snake River and recover wild Snake River salmon for generations to come.

Congress needs to hear from you today! Urge your members of Congress to save our wild salmon by removing the four lower Snake River dams. Send an email message today, and contact your legislator toll-free at: 1-877-851-6437