Thank You - Big Wins on Orca and Salmon

 By: Jesse Piedfort, Chapter Director

After receiving thousands of comments from Washingtonians concerned about orca and salmon recovery, Governor Inslee lent his support last month to two key recommendations from the Washington State Orca Task Force: increased spill over dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers, to help outgoing juvenile salmon, and a stakeholder process to identify issues and solutions to assist community transition around the potential removal of Washington's four Lower Snake River dams.

Our sincere thanks go out to Governor Inslee for adopting these critical recommendations, and to each and every Sierra Club member and supporter who submitted comments to the Orca Task Force and the Governor on this critical issue.

The Southern Resident orca population - listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2005 - is at a 30-year low due to the decline of their favorite food source: Chinook salmon. Our Southern Residents make the trip south to the Columbia River to feed late winter and spring, which makes restoring salmon runs in the Columbia Basin of primary importance for orca recovery.

After hearing from the Orca Task Force, Governor Inslee directed the Department of Ecology to allow more spill over the Columbia and Snake River dams. The best available science consistently shows that increasing spill is one of the most effective near-term actions we can take to increase the abundance of Chinook salmon in Pacific Northwest waters.

Governor Inslee also included $750,000 in his proposed 2019 budget to initiate a stakeholder process to engage tribes, stakeholders, and impacted communities in identifying issues and solutions pending a decision to remove the four lower Snake River dams in Washington State. The science strongly supports dam removal as the most effective recovery action for Snake River salmon and it would be an important complement to the upcoming National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process.

In the coming months, we'll continue to advocate for orca and salmon in the Washington State Legislature. In addition to our ongoing efforts to make sure the stakeholder process is fully funded, we'll be working to:

• Protect critical habitat in rivers and streams by passing a bill to regulate suction dredge mining, a destructive recreational mining practice

• Improve nearshore habitat for salmon by modernizing and updating regulations

• Secure funding to restore habitat and replace culverts that block salmon passage

• Prevent catastrophic oil spills by requiring escort tugs for tankers in the Salish Sea.

For more frequent updates on our legislative work and opportunities to make your voice heard, please consider signing up for our Legislative Action Team.

 Picture attribution: Mike Lemmon

Click here for the Snake River and Salmon Recovery Campaign.