Wild Salmon ~ Hey People, This is Serious!

Remember the opening sequence of Romancing the Stone?

"But if there's one law of the West -- bastards have brothers, who seem to ride forever."

Why is it important to remember Romancing the Stone? Well, that about sums up the plight of environmentalists working to protect the Wild. And, who are those bastards? You've heard of them. Federal regulatory agencies, like the EPA, Interior, FDA, Congress (both houses) and don't forget the money guys ~ large agribusiness, large energy corporations, etc. Notice anything? The ones you might think would put your health, the health of the planet and its welfare first are firmly in the pocket of those who don't give a rip about you.

Those of us in the environmental movement have a gallows sense of humour about this but sometimes the truth is just too painful and the prick draws blood. Then, we realize it just isn't funny. This is a catastrophe. A damn tragedy.

To quote Michael Wells' Salmon Blog ~ If wild salmon and steelhead are to be saved in the Snake River Basin, then their story has to be told by far more people than people like me. They won't be saved if the media continues to refuse to scratch the surface of wild fish runs and opts instead to publish the blah so many outdoors sections have become. The wild fish are what matters and when you actually do some journalism in this area, the story will land on page 1 every time, unless you are working for a bonehead (which is entirely plausible in media).

And, the irony? That the epicenter of fake news ~ The Daily Show ~ is doing more to expose the environmental catastrophe of selenium pollution in Idaho rivers, its cause and resulting genetic mutation of wild salmon than all the "real" news organizations in the world.

Not funny.

Fifty years after its publication, we are right smack in the middle of our own "Silent Spring." Wild Salmon was so abundant in the Pacific Northwest that seven hundred miles from the ocean, Red Fish Lake in Idaho got its name from the hundreds of thousands of bright red wild salmon that came home to spawn. In 1992, Lonesome Larry was the only male returning to Red Fish Lake.

Not funny.

In British Columbia and the Puget Sound, wild salmon are endangered by the provincial government's cozy relationship with Norwegian fish farms. Alexandra Morton has been relentless in her advocacy of wild salmon. At the end of May, her email said, "There is an outbreak of a virus in Clayoquot Sound near the endangered salmon runs of the Megin River. A second farm tested positive on Friday near Sechelt Inlet. Government says it is IHN, government says it is not a problem for wild salmon, but the scientific literature says different."

Not funny.

Locally, Wild Salmon.Org in their latest newsletter warns ~ "Congressman Doc Hastings is continuing his attacks on wild salmon and the Northwest jobs that depend on them. In his latest volley, Hastings is calling for a “rewrite” of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to weaken protections and citizen overview of government actions to protect endangered species."

Not funny.

During my campaign for Congress, I had occasion to travel to Washington DC, New York and Boston. When I would talk about environmental issues, the standard glazed-eye response was "I thought salmon was an entree, not an issue."

Could be funny if it weren't so depressing.

And, as I've mentioned before ~ "The Great Wild Salmon have run the streams of the Pacific Northwest for millions of years. Their cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth has tied us to the sea. Their remarkable journey has nourished the forest, fed its wild life and for the last 12,000 years defined the cultural heritage of our region. The Great Wild Salmon have graphically shown us the fragility of our planet and given voice to the old saying, “we all live downstream” as everything finds its way to the ocean."

So, what can you do?

1. Never, ever eat farmed salmon. It's filthy and ruinous to the environment.
2. And, when you don't buy it, tell your market why. Unfortunately, it's always about money.
3. Contact your member of Congress. This is not likely to be successful (unless you are a major donor), but, it's good to keep in touch with these guys.
4. Support the environmental group(s) of your choice that are working on this issue, lobbying Congress, preparing White Papers to support the protection of this important fish. You will find a comprehensive list below.
5. And, yes, letters to the editors to your local paper.
6. Use social media. With enough attention, Wild Salmon can go viral (in a good way). Who knows . . . maybe they could bump off the Kardashians!

The important thing is BE ACTIVE. Passivity gets us Lonesome Larry. For us in the Pacific Northwest, wild salmon is not just an entree, it is the cornerstone of our cultural heritage. Everything about this place we love is the direct result of the birth, life, death and rebirth of this mysterious fish.

Want to help? 

Day 48 Everyday Grateful ~

Beautiful sunny morning.

Going out to mow the lawn.

I really must buy a goat

or date a man who owns one.

Mmmm ~ there's a thought!

Happy!

Michael Wells
http://salmonblog.weebly.com/salmon-blog.html

Alexndra Morton:
http://tinyurl.com/c39hpum

The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi travels to Idaho to uncover a far-reaching corporate conspiracy involving two-headed fish, a giant agribusiness called Simplot, and the pollution of Idaho's rivers with Selenium.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-14-2012/a-simple-plot

http://wildsalmon.org

www.greatwildsalmonrun.org

http://thefairhero.blogspot.com/2012/03/wild-salmon-matter.html

Links of groups working to protect Wild Salmon:
http://www.greatwildsalmonrun.org/links.html