[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his year chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, are returning to the Columbia River in numbers not seen since Bonneville Dam was built in 1938: More than 1 million fish have been counted so far.
Although the large numbers of returning kings have a complex of factors behind them, including good ocean conditions, their abundance is also a testament to the success of the Endangered Species Act (celebrating its 40th birthday this year). A number of stocks of chinook and other Columbia River salmon are protected under the Act and have been helped by better dam management; protection of their spawning streams from logging, livestock grazing and other threats; and extensive stream restoration efforts.
“Columbia River chinook aren’t out of hot water yet and need more help, including the removal of dams on the lower Snake River,” says the Center for Biological Diversity’s endangered species director Noah Greenwald. “But without the Endangered Species Act, we wouldn’t be seeing this astounding, abundant run.”
[information]Read an intriguing article on the counting of this year’s fish in the Los Angeles Times.
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