As a result of a partnership between The Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition (SOS) and outdoor apparel company Patagonia, Inc., over ten-thousand emails and letters have been sent to President George W. Bush since October 30th, urging him to remove four dams on the Lower Snake River
and save wild salmon from extinction.
Through Patagonia's email action alert and a nationwide letter-writing
campaign in the company's retail stores, more than ten-thousand customers
asked the Bush Administration to include the removal of the dams in the
rewrite of the Federal Salmon Plan. The rewrite was ordered by a federal
judge in May 2003 after the existing plan was found to be in violation of
the Endangered Species Act.
“The overwhelming response we've received from Patagonia's customers
demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships and sends a loud
message that Americans care about wild salmon in our nation's rivers,” said
Pat Ford, Executive Director of SOS.
“Patagonia has a long history of partnering with grassroots environmental
organizations, and this email campaign is a great example of our efforts to
include our customers in that partnership,” said Michael Crooke, President
and CEO of Patagonia. “It's a huge win for the company and the environment
when we can inspire our customers to take direct action on these issues.”
The Snake River once supported one of the most prolific salmon runs in the
world, but today all species of Snake River salmon are listed as endangered,
threatened or already extinct. The four Snake River dams block salmon
migration paths from the ocean to their natal streams and ancestral spawning
grounds. They also elevate water temperatures to lethal levels, leaving the
fish literally in “hot water.”
“Dam removal on the Lower Snake would benefit both the ecology and the
economy of the region,” said Ford, citing various industries closely linked
to healthy wild salmon stocks, such as tourism, fishing, and outdoor
recreation. “Between the lost revenues in these industries and the money
the government squanders trucking salmon around the dams, we'd save taxpayer
dollars by removing the dams.” According to a recent report by the RAND
Corporation, an independent think tank, the electricity generated by the
dams could be replaced by alternative sources, such as wind turbines.
“This is a critical time for wild salmon populations,” Ford said. “The Bush
administration is attempting to exempt federal dams from clean water act
standards and is even considering eliminating key salmon restoration tools,
such as running water over dams to help young salmon migrate to the ocean.”
The Coalition's recent report, “Timeline of Failure,” presents an account of
the Administration's policies that they maintain are detrimental to the
health of salmon and the communities that depend on them.
