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Please thank Congressman McDermott for his leadership on wild salmon in 2009!
Last month, Congressman McDermott was instrumental in sponsoring a bi-partisan letter to President Obama calling for leadership from his Administration to bring people together to end years of litigation and develop a legal, jobs-creating, and clean energy-promoting plan to restore wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.
Congressmen Jim McDermott, Earl Blumenauer (OR), and Thomas Petri (WI) circulated the 2009 House Salmon Sign-on Letter and successfully recruited 72 total signers from the U.S. House of Representatives!
Click below to send a brief letter thanking your Congressman for leading this letter and being part of the solution to the costly and unnecessary Northwest salmon crisis.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Thank You For Your Leadership on Salmon Recovery!
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am writing to thank you for your leadership on the recent House letter to President Barack Obama, urging the administration's engagement on efforts to protect and restore Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead. As you know from first-hand experience as a champion for common-sense salmon recovery, this complex issue affects all of us here in the Pacific Northwest, as well as citizens across the country; with so much hanging in the balance - including family-wage jobs, opportunities to expand clean and renewable energy in Washington, and the very survival of our region's most iconic species - there has never been a more critical time to identify and implement durable solutions to the Northwest's salmon crisis.
I agree with you and the letter's co-signers that the best way to restore wild salmon to our rivers and streams - while also protecting and enhancing the Northwest's economy - is to put sound science and economics first. I also agree that it's time for the many parties with a stake in this issue to sit down together in pursuit of a workable plan that's guided by science, economics, and fairness. Any such stakeholder "table" should start with all the options laid out on it - including thoughtful consideration of measures like removal of the four lower Snake River dams.
Thank you again for leading this important letter to the President. I am hopeful that with this new administration working alongside both Congress and Northwesterners, we can pursue the smart, cost-effective solutions that will bring our cherished salmon back to the nation's signature salmon rivers, the Columbia and the Snake.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
April 30, 2009
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Wild salmon and steelhead of the Columbia and Snake Rivers are a treasure to our nation and the Northwest. Theirs is an epic journey - 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.
Yet these majestic fish more than mere symbols. 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 indicates crisis. Today, all remaining runs of salmon and steelhead on the Snake River are in danger of extinction. 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. It is time to remove these costly dams to restore salmon, create new jobs, and promote the development of a much-needed clean energy economy.
It is not too late to restore a free-flowing Snake River and recover wild salmon. 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.
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