This year, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition is hosting a new webinar series: RECIPROCITY! It will focus on respecting and caring for salmon and their special relationship to the health of ecosystems, our lands and waters, and other species and people.
This spring and fall, we will spend time with experts and storytellers who share their experiences, collaborative work, and stories of reciprocity to help recover healthy and abundant salmon populations in the Columbia-Snake Rivers and the benefits they bring to the Northwest and the nation.
SOS is grateful to the Natural Encounters Conservation Fund (NECF) for their generous support of this webinar series.
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
