Amazingly, the Creator made Northwest salmon capable of traveling by scent upriver to their own places of origin, where they seek to give life to the next generation.  Across six million years and countless generations, salmon have journeyed upriver, but with dams in place, their numbers have dwindled without access to their places of origin. We need to help endangered salmon find their way home to spawn recovery.   

All beings in the living world rely on each other, therefore restoring salmon also means recovering natural means for healthful soils upstream in farmlands, forests, riverside biomes, and plant life, which depend on salmon for their vital nutrients.  Above the Lower Snake River dams, many living beings depend on salmon spawning across 5500 miles of rivers systems.  

Tribal and frontline communities, who depend on salmon for subsistence and cultural practices, mourn the diminishing returns of local salmon. This translates to cultural losses, as longstanding traditions form around salmon's uniquely central role. People who cherish fishing traditions, tribal and otherwise, hunger for salmon returns to rivers across salmon country above the dams.   

Did you know that in recent weeks, salmon are literally and figuratively in hot water as they seek passage to their places of origin: their spawning homes?  Exposed to the most intense summer sun, open reservoirs at the LSR dams pool the cool river water into sun-heated zones where migrating salmon meet unhealthy waters.  Salmon need cool river waters to spawn, and even with dam-defying interventions for migratory fish, reservoir waters keep them from getting home safely.  

We are at a pivotal moment for salmon recovery. Our Senators can help bring salmon home to their rivers of origin, to reunite with their biosystem family. In the Northwest we are grateful for policymakers who openly speak about the spiritual and cultural significance of keystone species, like salmon, and we NEED our Senators to continue advocating for a free-flowing river. 

How can we leave this earth better than how we found it? How can we live into the call of care for our unique and precious home? We can answer the call to protect salmon, honor cultural connections with salmon, and restore healthy watersheds in the Northwest. As moral voices of faith and conscience, we are committed to honoring the awe-inspiring majesty of our common home, participate in restoring and replenishing sacrifice zones, and learning from all that has been called good. We recognize this vision comes to life when we follow the lead of NW Native Nations and front-line communities who experience first-hand the impacts of rising river temperatures, decreased salmon populations, and witness their own homes changing dramatically during their lifetimes. 

The path for dam removal may seem daunting as concerns about replacing services like the hydroelectricity produced by LSR's dams often feel at odds with salmon recovery.  Yet, research has shown: keeping these dams costs more than removing them.  They were built a long time ago, which means a high price tag to maintain them.  Removing these dams shines a spotlight on more effective investment in improvements for clean, sustainable energy generation that work in tandem with our environment.  

Other dam removal projects demonstrate the value of dam removal for fish recovery and tribal sovereignty, such as the Elwha River and Klamath River. Yurok tribal member Ashley Bauer reflected: “The Klamath River is my church.  That's where I go to pray, and that's where I go when I lose myself. I feel the water, and it tells me which way to go, and I know that's my home.”   

Sixty years ago, the four lower Snake River dams were built, and since then, Snake River salmon and steelhead returns have declined and remained far below recovery goals necessary to remove them from the Endangered Species Act list.  Restoring this historic salmon river is essential for protecting these fish from extinction and rebuilding the many benefits they provide for the people of the Northwest and our nation. 

Contact WA Senators Cantwell and Murray to remind them of the importance of their leadership in restoring salmon and respecting tribal sovereignty.