Praying for Salmon

Since 1942 the Grand Coulee Dam has blocked fish like salmon and sockeye from going upstream to breed. The Columbia River Treaty which was signed in 1964 to build 5 more high head hydropower dams similar to the Grand Coulee dam. All these dams were built to help with power and the prevention of flooding down river. Groups of native people in the U.S. all the way up to Canada have petitioned to have the dams reengineered to provide fish passage and to manage water levels. 

Providing a fish passage will restore the native way of life before the dams were constructed. This fishery to the native people was a big part of their culture and economy. With the reengineering of the dams to also help with the control of the water level fluctuating up river. It is stated that the water levels fluctuate up to 40 feet. With these fluctuations in the water levels on a constant basis and the flooding up river due to the dams holding back flood water from flooding the down river cities have displaced over 2300 in low river communities before the dams were built. This treaty affects the river from Astoria, Oregon to Canal Flats, British Columbia which is over 1,240 miles up river.

I came across this article in the Aljazeera web site. The Original title “Salmon people pray for sacred fish to return to historic home” caught my attention. Being an amateur fisher I have always dreamed of catching salmon. Also with my new hobby over the last couple years of spearfishing, just haves me salivating at the mouth of hunting and spearing a salmon. Don’t know if its legal up in Oregon yet, but with some research hopefully I will find the times of the year that salmon is open season to spearfishing. With the reading of this article I would say it is fallacious. After 72 years since the Grand Coulee dam was erected, now the native tribes are demanding fish ladders, fish passages claiming that they need the fish to continue their culture and economy. Why wasn’t this done 70 years ago when it first affected their culture and economy? Cultures and economies change in 70 plus years. Some things are warranted and valid but then some are not, making this fallacious.