Salmon On The Run
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you’ve probably heard about salmon migration, which begins in late summer and extends into December every year.
This article was originally published in Keep It Rural, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder.
The journey these salmon embark on is spectacular. They’re born in freshwater rivers and streams, and once they’re old enough, they head to the ocean. There, they feed on invertebrates and insects, and are fed on by larger animals like orcas, seals, sharks, and of course, humans.
If – when – they reach about four years old (the age differs between salmon species), a sort of homing sense kicks in. They start heading back upstream, usually to their birthplace, to spawn and then die.
But how does a salmon find its way, sometimes hundreds of miles, back to its exact birthplace?
Scientists don’t really know. The U.S. Geological Survey theorizes that salmon use the earth’s “magnetic field like a compass” to go back to the river or stream where they were born, a place they already know is a good spot to spawn.
Going, Going, Gone …
Everything about this migration is beautiful and tragic to me because of what it can tell us about our future.
Wild salmon populations have decreased drastically in recent years as the health of rivers and streams deteriorates with climate change and habitat loss. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, nearly half of the wetlands in Oregon’s coastal estuaries where salmon live have disappeared. Eighty percent of tidal wetlands in Washington’s Puget Sound have been cut off from rivers or destroyed to make room for development. Roughly 90% of California’s wetlands have been paved over.
Much of the West Coast’s Chinook salmon fishing season was canceled last summer because of population decline. Scientists estimate the Puget Sound’s Chinook salmon population is as low as 10% of their historic numbers.
To me, this warns of times to come, times in which we won’t find salmon in local rivers and streams.
There have been some efforts to stop this decline: In 2023, a proposal to remove four dams on the Klamath River in southern Oregon to improve salmon migration was greenlit. Now, in fall of 2024, the project is finally complete, marking the largest dam removal in U.S. history.
But Is It Enough?
I remember in sixth grade, I learned what global warming meant for our planet. Always an animal lover, the biggest takeaway for me was that animals would start to disappear if we didn’t do something. I went home after school that day and wrote handmade flyers with sketches of birds along the border to stuff in my neighbors’ mailboxes. Did they know that in 50 years, there might not be birds in the sky? That in 50 years, the salmon on their dinner plate might be a thing of the past?
That was almost 20 years ago, and things are much more dire now. In a 2023 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, scientists warned that we’ll pass the temperature threshold for a livable planet in the next 10 years.
I have a hard time staying optimistic when I hear that. I get just plain ole’ sad at the thought of losing so many plants and animals, and, eventually, ourselves.
One remedy I’ve found is paying close attention to my surroundings. Author and artist Jenny Odell writes about a concept called bioregionalism in her 2019 book How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. Bioregionalism is a place-based philosophy asserting that human cultures develop in relationship with the environments they inhabit. Odell argues that in the digital age that is the 21st century, we’ve abandoned this relationship with our physical surroundings.
Bioregionalism can help us repair this relationship. Casting our attention toward our local ecosystems – the changing colors of tree leaves in the fall, or the salmon on their hero’s journey home – counterbalances the demands of our new digital reality.
These demands for growth and money and development have led us down a very dangerous path. And it’s a path we might not survive, unless we opt out of it.
Right now, looking for the salmon is how I’m responding to this existential climate threat we’re all facing. What will you look for?
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I live and grew up on the water shed of the Willamette River in a once thriving lumber town at the head waters of the great Willamette river. Where i live four rivers start in the cascade mountains and join togeather to form the Willamette River that runs over two hundred miles and emptied into the Columbia River at Portland oregon.
The army Corp. Of engineers built four dams on the last 40 miles of the Willamette for flood control and they didn’t build them to generate power so each dam only has two electric turbines. They never built fish ladders over any of these dams and because of the height of the dams they say it’s not practical and will cost to much. These dams stopped the salmon from being able to reach hundreds of miles of thier natural spawning grounds and now they collect the few salmon that still travel the 150 miles up the Willamette at a collection facility 60 miles down river from thier past spawning grounds.
When I was a boy 72 years ago there were thousands of Chinook salmon spawning in the rivers where I grew up ,but there hasn’t been any salmon in those 4 rivers that make up the Willamette River since the early 60s.
So please don’t try to convince me that fish ladders work. They may work but when our government refuses to build them because of the costs the salmon will continue to decline like they have on the Willamette River where there used to be hundreds of thousands of salmon make it to thier spawning grounds now only a few hundred make it to the collection site 60 miles down river from those spawning grounds.
Claire thank you for article.
Not many articles bring tears to my eyes.
Mankind is responsible for the destruction “we” have unedjically created. OZONE.
REPLACE. MANAGED BURNING. I believe if a strategic schedule is put in place for each State in our Union based on weather time of year wind and all necessary elements that help OUR GOAL OZONE REPLACEMENT.
This on purpose burning will be in ugly in sky put it will and can reverse what mankind has done. This idea should be on the new president elected priority list. “God Speed” for our Salmon.
The Eel River was so incredibly thick with salmon, you could walk across it. Then the pot growers came in, then farms, and all of their chemicals and crap drained off into the river. It will never come back due to man moving in and thinking that unnatural practices won’t affect that around them or don’t care because of the money that can be had.
You can’t rely on the government either as it takes a village of morons who think they know all and then repeatedly prove that they don’t know what they’re doing.
A sad state to be sure.
Some people miss the forest for the trees.
Ms. Claire, while you were stuffing flyers in mailboxes, you were breaking the law. It is a felony.
You always seem to list some of the restrictions as to the supposed migratory fish species, but what is the major problem for the migratory fish is the miles and miles of gill nets stretched across there migratory routes, why won’t you actually list the main cause for the depletion to the population of migratory fish. I know it’s big dollars for the ones catching the fish, white man and Indians alike are the ones that are taking the toll on the fish. I know the Indians are using a small amount of the fish they get, but the gill nets are killing them all, hand nets can save the ones that need to be saved to promote more native returns.
Somebody in the federal government needs to show the fortitude to limit, or stop the rampant, uncontrolled growth not only in the wetlands of the Pacific NW, but in the Mississippi/Missouri River and Great Lakes regions— Pollution, chemical farm runoff, and a plethora of non native species are ruining the waters and shoreline areas of these crucial spawning areas—-
I have fished for 50 years, fishing was fine even with the damns built back in the 1920’s, greatest decline started with the Bolt decision and the commercial ization of Indian fishing rights. You can see a steady decline in fish runs after 1986 after all the court and federal cases were done. We had two commercial fishing groups, one of which was and still is self regulated.
You have any idea what your head is up your ass.there isn’t any more.those are hatchery fish.when I was a kid you could walk across the river on salmon,i know what I’m talking about,go back to school and get over it.its a done deal. Man has destroyed it.
I agree 100% look around and wake up! We are killing our world with pavement and houses. What do you think once lived where all our roads and houses go? Insects, birds, reptiles, forest critters, ect. The dams are doing the same thing to our rivers. We have a natural world and we are shaping it for us. Our planet does not like it and it has never been done before in its life time. I have no faith in people anymore. It’s too late no one will listen
Trawling is decimating oceans around the world. Nothing comes back after they pass thru. With each passing the trawler drags the bottom and takes everything. Leaving a barren waste. Then they throw everything but the “Target” species back, dead. Orcas, crabs, salmon, rockfish, whatever is in the net that isn’t pollock. So everyone can have their fillet-o-fish.
Actually the salmon run starts in the spring with the spring Chinook salmon entering rivers early as February/March. Many of the Pacific Coast tribes honor these as the salmon vanguard with a First Salmon Ceremony. Since they don’t eat during migration, the spring Chinook are highly prized since they return to their River loaded with fat and in their prime condition. Originally, they also ascended high, high into the upper reaches of the rivers and streams. Whereas their fall cousins would need to release their eggs below them. The spring salmon having ascended early are usually the first to spawn in late summer/early fall. So access to the upper reaches for these fish is crucial. Also problematic is dams withholding spring runoffs to fill their reservoirs for irrigation/power has interrupted the rise and fall of river levels so crucial to this run…
Read the UN report on climate change that just came out. They state that there is no proven correlation to climate change from human impact.
I’m not talking about pollution, that’s a real thing. But the fact that we are in the calmest 10,000 year timeframe that exists in the last 800,000 years. The climate has never been this stable for this long as it has been for us right now. The ice age wasn’t caused by humans, and neither was the end of it.
The dams in the Pacific Northwest, available power in the area is already at critical mass. Our electrical infrastructure is maxed out currently. I don’t understand how removing hydroelectric dams that provide constant clean energy is a good solution. I don’t think you can get cleaner energy than hydroelectric. Solar is dirty, wind is dirty, and neither one of them are constant or very effective. The low 20% efficiency area is considered a success for those sources.
Just FYI, there are fish ladders and routes for the salmon to take to pass the dams. Case in point, the salmon are making it back to the fishery right now. One last thing, the actual salmon counts the last 3 years have been massive due to the work being done to help their population. The fishing season opens and closes on a daily basis or sometimes in the middle of the day based on daily counts of fish going over the dam. So saying that the fishing season was closed is a terrible benchmark to try to relate. Even the massive seasons have days where it’s closed due to that days count.
The world isn’t dying, you aren’t saving it. But what you are doing is breaking a lot of systems that people rely on to survive. The winter’s up here aren’t feasible without heat for many people.
I just “googled”, “UN report on climate change”, it showed various publications they most recently put out to the public. From what I read, the articles were alarming. They stated greenhouses were at an all time high; the global temperatures were increasing and humans were to blame. Can you tell me which UN report you are referring to in your post. Thanks
How about the fact that the hundreds of acres if solar farms that we have been putting in for about the last 10 yrs (there is proof) that’s is causing lots of climate disturbances? but oh it’s not what the government wants you to hear!!! OR
What about the tens of thousands of salmon that our green peace idiots let the seals and sealions devastate for years huddling at the mouth of the Columbia River, then hunting them all the way up to the Willamette River dam. Hunting for sport ripping the belly’s out not because they’re hungry but for sport!! Maybe there should be more people with their own brains looking for the real truths instead of believing the lies on the news!!!
Important info that you share. Only it seems that during extremes that people will react in masses to buy into humanity saving the planet ideas, foregoing common sense. And while this moment in time is as brief as all of life in this present cycle of earths supportive elements, there are those that loose the grasps of really how short and insignificant their entire life, or the tree of life really is. As we continue infrastructure and reserves the cycle of time still slowly ticks away entire life forces that we know of not. We’re merely passengers on every days gift. What we can do that make sense is to enjoy the perfect present moment, for just what it is. If you find yourself in a vortex of unfortunate directions, unless you are plainly gifted as to never encounter the ups and downs every one is guaranteed to go through, then focus on changing that 1 precious moment. The whole world will feel that, and react to that unknown force if they are too, living lifewitnessing time. For ever, or what it is worth.
Thank you. When in the Earth’s history has the climate not changed. Imagine spending your entire short existence worrying about something you’ll never change instead of using that energy to enjoy the life you’ve been blessed with.
Battle Creek isn’t even close to 300 miles
upstream from the Pacific Ocean. More like 180 miles. Otherwise good article.
Is that 180 miles “as the crow flies” or is it possible the stream meanders
Those 4 dams that were removed on the Klamath river are in N. California, not in Southern Oregon. I’d like to think my state of Oregon would have better sense than to remove carbon free hydroelectric production, especially in remote regions most susceptible to power outages. Fish ladders work very well. Install and use them.
Good Job. Green parties forget that man and fish should coexist. Take care of million dollar dams with replenishment and maintenance. They are gravity powered and non polluting. Fish ladders are efficient and yet talk of them seems to be of the past. We need water for drinking, gathered in resovoirs, power generation.