Contact the Obama Administration today!

Wild Pacific salmon are a national treasure. Healthy runs of salmon reflect healthy rivers. They also support good jobs in coastal and river communities across the West Coast. In recent years, however, as a result of harmful dams, excessive water withdrawals, and other forms of habitat destruction, our salmon have suffered drastic declines.

Please contact President Obama and Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Administrator of NOAA today! Urge their leadership to restore the rivers and habitat that salmon require, and save the West Coast's salmon-based economy.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Restore Our Rivers, Recover Our Salmon, Rebuild Our Jobs

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Wild Pacific salmon are a national treasure supporting green jobs and thousands of businesses worth billions of dollars to the West Coast economy. In recent years, however, our salmon have suffered drastic declines. Immediate action must be taken to reverse this alarming trend.

We need active, sustained leadership from the White House to save the West Coast's salmon-based economy. Effective salmon restoration will require a strategic, coordinated approach guided by the best available science. I urge you to prioritize the following actions to restore our rivers, recover our salmon, and rebuild good jobs across the West Coast:

*** REMOVE costly, outdated, fish-killing dams, like those on the Snake, Klamath, and Yuba River systems.

*** REDUCE water diversions and require adequate stream flows for fish and a healthy environment. This will require supporting a transition to sustainable water usage and agricultural practices - a job made more difficult and more urgent as a result of our rapidly changing climate.

*** ENFORCE our existing wildlife, wetland, and river protection laws including the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 12, 2009


Background Information

Across the West Coast, wild salmon and steelhead populations are in the midst of a dramatic decline. Salmon are an indicator species that reflect the health of our rivers and streams.

For many generations, salmon have also fed families and supported good jobs in coastal and river communities from southern California to southeast Alaska, and inland to Idaho and Nevada.

Today, however, as a result of overzealous dam construction, water withdrawals, and other forms of habitat destruction, salmon are struggling to survive. As a result, fishing seasons have been closed by federal regulators in recent years. Thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in income have been lost.

SalmonAID 2009 is a free festival of great music and great food, sponsored by a wide-ranging coalition of conservation and fishing organizations and associations committed to working together to restore healthy habitat and abundant, self-sustaining, harvestable populations of salmon and steelhead, and the businesses and jobs that they support.

Effective salmon recovery efforts will only occur with strong public support that demands political leadership to take the actions necessary to protect and restore the river and estuary habitats that salmon depend upon for survival.

Please join thousands of other supporters of salmon recovery at SalmonAID 2009 at Jack London Square on June 20 and 21.

Visit www.salmonaid.org for a complete description of organizations, musicians, foods, and business sponsors that are working together to host one of the biggest salmon festivals on the West Coast.

We'll see you there!
--the SalmonAID Team...