A short ways back I read an editorial the local paper about salmon habitat. The main premise of the essay was that while many think removing the dams will make the salmon come back (in time) to their glorious sizes and levels of old- we ought to look at other factors.
Look at the Queets. Never damed, it too is a pale comparison of the river booming with life that is once was. Is it a result of poor forestation practices and the resultant sediment/ habitat loss, the absurd amount of salmon harvested through commercial fishing for our demanding appetites, our ocean getting sick and dirty, global warming????
To show one example of a toxin in the ocean that could be affecting salmon, here is an interesting article about toxins in farmed (and wild) fish. If PBDE's are toxic to us, they could be affecting the fishies in negative ways too. I heard a report on NPR a few months ago about giant swaths of the ocean that are literally dying. When are we as a society going to be willing to change our convenient lifestyle to address these issues before it becomes dire.
Yes, removing the dams is a great step for restoring pacific salmon habitat and encouraging them- doing what we can to keep any more species from going extinct. But we may find out that though we restore the river, there are more factors at play which can't repaired that easy.
Not the reasonI just came across this page from King County on salmon friendly living.
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