ISBN 9780870713903 (hardcover)
The Northwest Salmon Crisis
Sandy Ridlington and Joseph Cone
This acclaimed volume offers a key to understanding the historic roots of one of today's most closely watched environmental issues, the fate of salmon in the Pacific Northwest.
The history of the current salmon crisis is long and disturbingly consistent, with concern over declining salmon runs beginning in the 1800s. This book focuses on the human actions--and failures to act--that have helped drive many wild salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest to the brink of extinction.
For this first documentary history of the salmon crisis, knowledgeable observers of salmon history have chosen and commented upon the documents that they feel most clearly reveal the causes and implications of today's crisis. The eighty documents span a period of 140 years and address such issues as habitat, hatcheries, dams, fisheries, Indian fishing rights, and watershed management. Together, these mileposts in the sorry journey of the salmon provide a compelling perspective on an environmental crisis of growing national concern.
Selected by Choice as one of the year's "Outstanding Academic Books."
The Contributors
The contributors bring to the discussion expertise in such areas as natural resource law, biology, tribal and Northwest history, and anthropology. They are Bill M. Bakke, Michael C. Blumm, F. Lorraine Bodi, Joseph Cone, Douglas W. Dompier, Stanley V. Gregory, Robert Kentta, William L. Lang, James A. Lichatowich, William G. Robbins, and Courtland L. Smith.
About the author
Sandy Ridlington is managing editor of Oregon Sea Grant.
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Joseph Cone is the co-editor of The Northwest Salmon Crisis and the author of Fire Under the Sea, which was named one of the top science books of the year by Library Journal and Booklist.
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I. Introduction
- The World of Columbia River Salmon: Nature, Culture, and the Great River of the West
- By William G. Robbins
II. The Exploration of Nature
- Introduction
- Crosscurrents: Salmon in the Wild and in Hatcheries
- Explorations on the Columbia River (Livingston Stone)
- Salmon Fisheries of the Columbia Basin (Marshall McDonald)
- Fish and Fisheries (Morning Oregonian reporter
- Local Populations and Conservation of Salmon (Willis Rich)
- Future of the Columbia Fisheries (Willis Rich)
- Artificial Propagation in Oregon (George Staley)
- Review of Fish Production Facilities (Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority
- Commentary by Bill M. Bakke and Joseph Cone
- Hatcheries: An Artificial Salmon
- The Fish Supply (John Hittell)
- Artificial Propagation of Salmon (Livingston Stone)
- Commentary by Courtland L. Smith
- The Creed of a Salmon Capitalist
- Salmon of the Pacific Coast (R.D.Hume)
- Commentary by James A. Lichatowich
- The Scramble to Regulate Fisheries
- Fish and Game Protector Reports, 1893-1894 and 1895-96
- Fish Commissioners Reports, 1887, 1888, and 1891
- Regulation of Fishing Gear and Seasons (Henry O. Wendler)
- Commentary by Courtland L. Smith
III. Contending with Technology
- Introduction
- What Happens When the Public Manages Technology
- The Effects of the Partial Elimination of Fishing Gear (D.R. Johnson, W.M. Chapman, and R.W. Schoning)
- Commentary by Courtland L. Smith
- Army Corps and Congress: True Believers in Dams
- Army Corps of Engineers Report (1931)
- Bonneville Project Act
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Science Ignored for Development
- U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries Report
- The Mitchell Act
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Developers Consider Costs and Benefits
- Army Corps of Engineers Report (1938)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- What the Mitchell Act Promised the Salmon
- Agreement to Implement the Mitchell Act
- The Fishery Program in the Lower Columbia River (Leo Laythe)
- Commentary by Douglas W. Dompier
- "We're from the Government and We're Here to Help"
- The McNary Dam Authorization
- Corps of Engineers Report (1948)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- International and Regional Cooperation Overlooks Salmon
- Columbia River Treaty
- Pacific Northwest Coordination Agreement
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Justice Douglas Decides for Udall and the Clearwater
- Udall V. Federal Power Commission (Justice William O. Douglas)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- The Problems with Hatcheries
- Are Wild Salmonid Stocks Worth Conserving? (John Dentler and David Buchanan)
- Analysis of Supplementation (William H. Miller and others)
- Techno-Arrogance and Halfway Technologies: Salmon Hatcheries (Gary K. Meffe)
- Commentary by Joseph Cone
- A Fisher's Campaign for Conservation
- Fiftieth Anniversary Number, Pacific Fisherman (Miller Freeman)
- Commentary by Courtland L. Smith
- Management of Wood Is Critical to Rivers and Salmon
- Salmon Fisheries of the Coastal Rivers (John Gharrett and John Hodges)
- Prevent Logging Damage to Streams (Canadian Department of Recreation & Conservation)
- Guidelines for Stream Protection (Richard L. Lantz)
- Field Guide to Oregon Forest Practice Rules
- Land Use Planning (U.S. Forest Service)
- Commentary by Stanley Gregory
- Does Planning Help?
- Pacific Northwest Regional Plan (Roy F. Bessey)
- Commentary by Courtland L. Smith
IV. The Indian Experience
- Introduction
- What the Treaties Promised the Indians
- Stevens Treaty Negotiations
- Treaty of Medicine Creek
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Supreme Court Upholds Indians' Rights
- United States V. Winans (Justice Joseph McKenna)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Judge Boldt Defends Fishing Rights
- United States v. Washington, Phase I (Judge George Boldt)
- Washington v. Passenger Fishing Vessel Association (Justice John Paul Stevens)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- The Courts Tackle Habitat
- United States v. Washington, Phase II
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- An Early Instance of Supplementation
- The Great Salmon Mystery (Richard Neuberger)
- Commentary by Douglas W. Dompier
- Attempts to Foster Supplementation Run Afoul of Politics
- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (1982)
- Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (1987)
- Commentary by Douglas W. Dompier
- The Role of Race in Salmon Policy
- The Hutchinson Memo (Samuel J. Hutchinson)
- Columbia River Fishery Development Report
- Senate Appropriations Hearings
- Report on the Lower Snake River Dams
- Endangered Species Act Workshop (Howard Raymond)
- Idaho Anadromous Fish Plan
- Commentary by Douglas W. Dompier
- Study of a People and Their Resources
- Rogue River Treaty
- Notice of Intent to Establish Coast Reservation (Joel Palmer)
- Executive Order Establishing Coast Reservation (President Franklin Pierce)
- Executive Order Reducing Coast Reservation (Joseph Harlan and President Andrew Johnson)
- Annual Report on Indian Affairs J.W. Perit Huntington)
- Report on Conditions of Siletz Agency Indians (E.C.Kimble)
- Letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (E.P. Smith)
- Looters of the Public Domain (Stephen A. Douglas Puter)
- Letter from Siletz Tribal Council (Daniel Orton)
- Report on Siletz River (John I. Hodges)
- Draft of Termination Act
- Siletz Restoration Act
- Commentary by Robert Kentta
V. The Accelerating Crisis
- Introduction
- Should Ecology Restrain the Economy?
- Ecology and Economy (Urban and Rural Lands Committee, Pacific Northwest River Basins Commission
- Commentary by Courtland L. Smith
- A Call for Balance
- A Question of Balance (Ed Chaney)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Northwest Power Act: "Fish Coequal with Hydropower"
- Northwest Power Act
- The 1982 Water Budget
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Hatchery Operations Show Bias
- Releases of Juvenile Salmon
- Commentary by Douglas W. Dompier
- States May Not Horde Natural Resources
- Idaho v. Oregon and Washington (U.S. Supreme Court)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Court Defined "Equitable Treatment" of Salmon
- Yakima Indian Nation v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- A Shared Resource: The Tragedy of the Commons
- Pacific Salmon Treaty
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- New Regional Program Failed to Restore Runs
- The Failed Promise of the Fish and Wildlife Program (Natural Resources Law Institute)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Court Says Council Violated Law
- Northwest Resource Information Center v. Northwest Power Planning Council (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- The Alarm that Was Heard: The Crossroads Report
- Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads (Endangered Species Committee of the American Fisheries Society)
- Commentary by Joseph Cone
- Wild Fish Receive Special Consideration
- Wild Fish Management Policy (Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission)
- Commentary by Bill M. Bakke
- Snake River Salmon Listed under Endangered Species Act
- Endangered and Threatened Species: Final Rule
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- Overhaul of Columbia River Operations Needed
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game v. National Marine Fisheries Service(Judge Malcolm Marsh)
- Commentary by Michael C. Blumm and F. Lorraine Bodi
- What Have Northwest Residents learned?
- Oregon Voter's Pamphlets
- Commentary by Courtland L. Smith
- Invisible Parks for Northwest Salmon: Nowhere to Run
- A National Salmon Park (Livingston Stone)
- The Program for Anadromous Fishes of the Columbia (Ross Leffler)
- Forest Ecosystem Management (Forest Ecosystem Management Team)
- Memo to Thomas E. Lovejoy, Smithsonian Institution (Willa Nehlsen and others)
- Commentary by Joseph Cone
VI. Conclusion
- River of Change: Salmon, Time, and Crisis on the Columbia River
- By William Lang
- Biographical Notes
- Glossary
- Acknowledgments
- Index
"...A remarkable collection of relevant, revealing public documents that chronicle the sad saga of declining salmon runs in the region."
"A valuable resource for policy makers, scientists, historians, students, and all who care about the future of salmon."
"The Northwest Salmon Crisis is a book that can help us understand the origins of a deep-rooted problem, one that applies to every small drainage in our region."
See book review in Tidepool: News for the Rain Forest Coast