a public library for anyone interested in the plight of Idaho's wild Salmon & Steelhead
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At Issue In southeastern Washington State, the four Lower Snake River dams provide: irrigation for 13 farms on 37,000 acres, 4% of the region's electricity in an average water year, taxpayer-supported shipping of 4 million tons of commodities, and quarter billion dollars annual revenue for the U.S. government. Before western man arrived to the Pacific Northwest, Redfish Lake, Idaho hosted some 25,000 adult sockeye salmon every year. In 1998, only one Sockeye returned to Redfish Lake. Throughout the 1990's, a total of eighteen Sockeye adults returned. While the facts seem stark and simple the questions and meanings run much deeper.

Our Mission Our mission is to facilitate an open and honest dialogue concerning the plight of Idaho's wild Salmon and Steelhead. The fate of these fish will largely be determined by government agencies and the authorizations and funding that they receive from Congress. It is hoped that the growing library of news & reports will assist the public and these decision-makers in making well-informed choices regarding the recovery of Idaho's anadromous fish.

Our library is organized into five basic categories

A sample from People & Thoughts Oregon Governor Kitzhaber's View "If we want to recover salmon, and we don't want to breach the dams, then we are going to have to step up to the plate. Delay is not an alternative, or we are going to start losing these runs." The alternative plan, labeled "aggressive non-breach," calls for leaving the dams in place while implementing significant steps that include restoration of streams where salmon spawn, reform of hatcheries to reduce harm to wild fish by hatchery-born fish, (restoration of the Columbia River estuary) and increased fishing restrictions. The federal plan says breaching should again be considered if specific goals are not met by 2003, 2005 and 2008. -- by Jonathan Brinckman, The Oregonian (more)

A sample from Dams & Economics The Federal Government's Current View Much of the regional debate has focused on removal of Snake River dams. There is continuing scientific uncertainty about whether breaching dams is necessary to achieve recovery and considerable uncertainty about whether it will do the job. Only Snake River fish benefit from breaching, with no benefit to eight other listed populations. Dam removal would require explicit congressional authorization, and, once authorized, cannot be implemented on a short time frame. And its high cost may prejudice other actions needed throughout the Basin. The option of Snake River drawdown therefore appears to rank as a lower priority at this time than other available options because of the long time to implement, narrow benefits, biological uncertainties and high costs. -- Conservation of Columbia Basin Fish, July 27, 2000 (more)

A sample from Salmon & Ecologics Salmon Support 137 Other Species More than 137 species of fish and wildlife - from orcas to caddisflies - depend on the Northwest salmon for their survival, a revelation that makes salmon recovery efforts of far greater importance than the protection of a single species. A new report released by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has found that salmon play a vital role in watershed health, transporting nutrients from the ocean back to the watershed. The discovery could spark major changes in fishery and hatchery management and the direction of salmon recovery efforts in the future. "It's not just salmon, it's the ecosystem," said Jeff Cederholm, a salmon research scientist with Washington Department of Natural Resources, principal author of the report. "We need to start giving out the whole story of what made the ecosystem; it's an abundance of fish on the spawning grounds." -- Environmental News Network, July 6, 2000 (more)

A sample from Newton & Numbers Mortality in the Hydrosystem Corridor Downstream Migration of Juvenile Fish   Average (1994-1999) Direct Mortality Fall Chinook Spring Chinook Steelhead Columbia/Snake Dams (8 dams) 12% 20% 17% Columbia/Snake Reservoirs (8 reservoirs) 81% 40% 41% Lower Snake River (4 dams & 4 reservoirs) 72% 30% 29% Columbia River (4 dams & 4 reservoirs) 21% 30% 29% Columbia/Snake Rivers (8 dams & 8 reservoirs) 93% 60% 58% Indirect Mortality ? ? ? -- National Marine Fisheries Service, December 21, 2000 (more)

Navigation Buttons RedFish BlueFish can be viewed streaming online. Read the script, film reviews and critiques or order a copy for yourself or friends. A discussion forum is provided and a directory of lesson plans donated by educators who use the film RedFish BlueFish and website in their curriculum. This page is the home library page that you are now reading. A tutorial is being developed to allow visitors to more easily grasp the chief issues surrounding this otherwise complex topic. Current government reports will be used extensively so as to avoid propaganda and misinformation. bluefish.org and government agencies are just a click away. List of links to related websites grows with your suggestions aimed at representing all points of view.

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