This spring, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition hosted a new webinar series: RECIPROCITY! The webinar series is back for fall 2025! The series focuses on respecting and caring for salmon and their special relationship to the health of ecosystems, our lands and waters, and other species and people.
Join SOS this fall for three virtual evenings with powerful award-winning writers for hopeful, provocative and inspiring discussions focused on our relationships with each other and the beautiful, life-giving planet we call home. Each 90-minute presentation will include live readings, a moderated discussion, and a Q&A with attendees. SOS is grateful to the Natural Encounters Conservation Fund (NECF) for their generous support of this webinar series!
September Webinar: 9/25 at 6:00 pm PT
An evening with Christopher J. Preston, author of Tenacious Beasts – Wildlife recoveries that change how we think about animals. Dr. Preston will lead a discussion about re-wilding success stories and lessons learned.
October Webinar: 10/23 at 6:00 pm PT
An evening with Lynda V. Mapes, author of The Trees are Speaking – Dispatches from the salmon forests.
November Webinar: 11/20 at 6:00 pm PT
An evening with Rena Priest, author of Positively Uncivilized – Reciprocity in the Age of Extinction.
Learn more about the powerful lineup of award-winning authors:
CHRISTOPHER J. PRESTON
Christopher Preston is an award-winning author, environmental philosopher, public speaker, and clean energy enthusiast based in Missoula, Montana. He grew up in England, on the white cliffs of the south coast. There he spent summers enjoying chilly green waters, catching prawns at Birling Gap, and getting scratched by thickets of blackberries.
He moved to the United States aged twenty-two for a graduate degree. He found his feet in Colorado but soon became addicted to Alaska. Its giant landscapes showed him wildlife and wildlands he had never experienced before. Prince William Sound, Bristol Bay, and the Tongass National Forest all tipped him on my heels. To pay his way, he caught fish, packed fish, looked everywhere for fish, and (almost) became sick of fish. He also befriended some wonderful people. Back in the lower forty-eight, Oregon, Washington DC, and South Carolina all became home for a stretch.
In Montana, he teaches environmental philosophy at the University of Montana. He enjoys a satisfying rhythm that includes writing, teaching, cross-country skiing, and biking. He also grows vegetables and fruits that fill both belly and freezer when the sun lights the soil with warmth.
His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Discover, Orion, The BBC, Yale E360 and other outlets. His books and journal articles explore technology, wildlife, climate change, justice, and numerous other topics that bear on how we live. His most recent book, Tenacious Beasts, won the 2024 High Plains Book Award for non-fiction and was included in The New Yorker’s ‘Best Books of 2023.’ It probes the mystery of wildlife back from the brink and asks what they have to teach.
Join the RECIPROCITY webinar with Christoper Preston on September 25 at 6:00 pm PT!
LYNDA V. MAPES
Lynda V. Mapes covers environmental and Indigenous issues for the Seattle Times. She is author of six books, including most recently Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home, winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award and the 2021 Washington State Book Award for nonfiction. Her journalism has earned numerous prestigious awards, including the international 2019 and 2012 Kavli gold award for science journalism from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is also an associate of the Harvard Forest of Harvard University, in Petersham, MA.
A call to rethink our relationship with forests
Ancient and carbon-rich, old-growth forests play an irreplaceable role in the environment. Their complex ecosystems clean the air, purify the water, cool the planet, and teem with life. In a time of climate catastrophe, old-growth and other natural forests face existential threats caused by humans—and their survival is crucial to ours.
In a bicoastal journey, environmental journalist Lynda V. Mapes connects the present and future of Pacific Northwest forests to the hard-logged legacy forests of the northeastern United States. Beginning in Oregon and Washington, where old growth supports, and is supported by, the region’s salmon, we meet Jerry Franklin, who led scientists in recognizing and studying the distinctiveness of these majestic spaces. From there, we journey to Vancouver Island, where Indigenous activists and scientists strive to preserve the health of Nuu-chah-nulth traditional homelands amid continued clearcutting. On the East Coast, we see the corduroy patterns of lands that have been logged for generations, leaving industrial carnage along formerly life-filled waterways. Mapes interviews Penobscot elders and scientists whose new practices are restoring the fish runs, as well as loggers using new technologies to harvest more sustainably.
With vibrant storytelling supported by science and traditional ecological knowledge, Mapes invites readers to understand the world where trees are kin, not commodities. The Trees Are Speaking is essential reading for those with a deep interest in environmental stewardship, Indigenous land rights, and the urgent challenges posed by climate change.
Join the RECIPROCITY webinar with Lynda V. Mapes on October 23 at 6:00 pm PT!
RENA PRIEST
Join Washington State Poet Laureate Emeritus Rena Priest as she reads from her new essay collection, Positively Uncivilized, and shares reflections on the process of collecting the award-winning anthology, I Sing the Salmon Home. The reading will be followed by an open Q&A where the audience can join the conversation.
Rena Priest is a celebrated author and enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She served as the 6th Washington State Poet Laureate (2021-2023) and has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the 2024 Washington State Book Award, the 2020 Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award, and the 2018 American Book Award. Her collection of essays, Positively Uncivilized, was honored with the Raven Chronicles Press Keepers of the Fire Award and is scheduled for release in September 2025. In 2022, she was named the Maxine Kushing Gray Distinguished Writing Fellow by the University of Washington Libraries and also received fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and Indigenous Nations Poets. From 2021 to 2024, she periodically toured the country as part of an all-Indigenous ensemble in a show called Welcome to Indian Country. In 2024, she served as a judge for the 50th annual National Book Award. Her poetry and nonfiction are widely published online and in print. She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.
WATCH OUR WEBINAR RECORDINGS FROM THE SPRING:
RECIPROCITY: Envisioning a Healthy and Restored Columbia Basin
The Columbia River Basin once annually sustained over 10-18 million salmon, steelhead, and native fish, and was rich in diverse native wildlife, plants, and healthy rivers. However, the Basin has experienced significant changes in the past 150 years, pushing salmon to the brink of extinction. Restoring the Columbia Basin offers opportunities for communities to connect with a thriving ecosystem, healthier rivers and salmon, and a balanced web of life.
Our featured guests spoke to their unique relationships to the salmon and the Columbia and Snake Rivers and share their perspectives on what a restored and healthy Columbia Basin would mean to them and the entire Pacific Northwest.
Thank you to our featured presenters:
Take Action:
Historic progress is underway to implement the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI)! As members of Congress begin the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations process, we urge them to include robust funding for key federal programs that support the restoration of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin.
Please join us and ACT NOW to urge your members of Congress to include funding to recover salmon and invest in our communities—moving everyone forward together!
Resources:
- Tribal Circumstances Analysis: Historic and Ongoing impacts of Federal Dams on the Columbia River Basin Tribes (June 2024) PDF
- SOS Blog: Biden Administration Releases 'Tribal Circumstances Analysis' Highlighting Historic and Ongoing Negative Impacts of Columbia River Dams to Tribal Communities
- Learn more about the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative at: critfc.org/cbri
RECIPROCITY: Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative
On April 17th, Sierra Club and Save Our wild Salmon co-hosted the second installment of RECIPROCITY. We were honored to have representatives of the Six Sovereigns present on the development, purpose, and goals of the groundbreaking, collaborative, and comprehensive plan—the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI).
Thank you to the Six Sovereigns — the four lower Columbia River Treaty Tribes (Yakama, Umatilla, Nez Perce, and Warm Springs) and the states of Oregon and Washington — for their leadership to ensure our region is on a pathway to recovery, resilience, and a just and prosperous future. With the solutions outlined in the CBRI, we can restore salmon and other native fish to healthy and abundant levels, ensure a clean and socially just energy future, support local economic resilience, and honor federal commitments to Tribal Nations. Watch the webinar recording to learn more about the CBRI.
"This has been a long and beautiful journey. In this important moment, we are united together, as we all should be on important issues. We need everyone to help with this effort to show the region and our future generations that this is possible. It's very emotional to our communities that still acknowledges this way of life. It's meaningful, and it's about our youth, it's about our children, their grandchildren, the ecosystem, and the different animals that rely on these native anadromous species."—Jeremy Takala, Chair, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
Thank you to our featured presenters:
Take Action:
Please join Save Our wild Salmon and Sierra Club and TAKE ACTION in support of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, and oppose legislation that undermines important solutions and progress.
In January, Sen. Jim Risch (ID) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-4) introduced legislation, “Northwest Energy Security Act,” that undermines important salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia River Basin. Please ACT NOW to urge your members of Congress to oppose the Northwest Energy Security Act and to strongly support the implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative to recover imperiled salmon populations with solutions that replace existing dam services, creates jobs, and invests in clean energy and modern infrastructure.
Resources:
- Learn more about the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative at: critfc.org/cbri
- CBRI: A New Opportunity to Restore Salmon, Honor Treaties, and Invest in the Northwest PDF
- Sierra Club: Pathway to Action: “Six Sovereigns” Comprehensive Plan PDF
RECIPROCITY: Advancing Sustainable and Just Energy AND Healthy, Abundant Salmon
The March RECIPROCITY: Advancing Sustainable and Just Energy AND Healthy, Abundant Salmon webinar covered the historical context of the Northwest energy landscape, the opportunities to address the historical harm to Tribes, salmon, and our ecosystem, while advancing clean renewable energy. Our guests spoke on the urgent need for Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to choose the right energy market in order to ensure a resilient energy future for all in the Northwest.
Our guest speakers included:
- Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director & Ben Otto, Consultant from NW Energy Coalition
- Britt Freda, Creative Director of NW Artists Against Extinction
- Jess Ludwig, NextGen Salmon Collective leader
Take Action:
BPA has published a draft decision to join an energy market, Markets+, which will create significant problems for regional electric prices, decarbonization, and salmon recovery. We need your help to urge BPA and Northwest elected officials to unify the west and choose an energy market that fosters reliability and affordability for customers while also protecting our environment—including the salmon that define our Northwest way of life.
Resources:
- Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission: Tribal Energy Vision for the Columbia Basin
- NW Energy Coalition: Addressing the Lower Snake River Dams Peaking Capacity
- NW Energy Coalition: Smart planning will drive replacing the power from the lower Snake River dams
- Save Our wild Salmon: BPA must not short-circuit our region
Artwork: © Annie Brulé, Heritage Species
