Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published monthly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.
1. The election and our way forward
2. SOS joins letter, seeks access as the Army Corps of Engineers begin process to develop a plan to cool a too-hot lower Snake River
3. Introducing the new cohort of NextGen Salmon Collective leaders!
4. Celebrate Native American Heritage Month!
5. Autumn Spawn: A Salmon’s Journey
6. Remembering Bob Sallinger – a giant in Oregon’s conservation community
7. Join in for Giving Tuesday (December 3) and SOS’ Year End Giving Campaign!
8. Salmon media roundup
1. The election and our way forward
Photo credit: John Gussman
We start this issue with some initial reflections on the recent election and what it means for Save Our wild Salmon and our work to protect and restore Northwest endangered native fish and the many benefits they bring to people, fish and wildlife, and ecosystems.
We expect the incoming Administration to pursue dramatic changes starting early next year regarding the federal government’s approach to salmon and orca conservation, and to environmental, energy, and other policies and priorities across the country. While our advocacy strategies and tactics may change in 2025, our overarching goals and values will not.
With your strong support and advocacy over the last four years, we’ve made truly historic progress to advance salmon and steelhead recovery, lower Snake River restoration, and dam service replacement planning. We’re proud of our success to build bipartisan leadership by state and federal policymakers across the Northwest; our outreach and community organizing projects to help Southern Resident orcas by rebuilding the salmon they depend on; and our work to support and elevate the voices and priorities of Tribal Nations – the Salmon People. And we’ve built new and stronger relationships with diverse stakeholders throughout the region.
Regardless of who is in the White House, SOS remains 100% committed to continuing our work with Northwest people and policymakers to develop comprehensive and durable solutions to restore imperiled salmon and orcas, invest in clean water and healthy habitat, support vibrant communities, and uphold our nation’s promises to Tribes – to build a brighter and more resilient future for the generations that will follow us.
Yes, we have a lot of hard work ahead. But that’s always the case. At SOS, our team is all in. We’re gearing up now for the new year – and we look forward to continuing our partnership with you. We are very grateful for your past support and advocacy. It means everything to us – and it’s the critical ingredient for our continued success and progress.
2. SOS joins letter, seeks access as the Army Corps of Engineers begin process to develop a plan to cool a too-hot lower Snake River.
Sockeye salmon with lesions dying from hot water in the Columbia-Snake River Basin © Conrad Gowell
On October 11, Save Our wild Salmon joined a sign-on letter to the Northwest Division office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) as one important step in a larger effort to lower water temperatures in the lower Snake River reservoirs and address repeat violations of the Clean Water Act. Led by SOS member group, Columbia Riverkeeper, and signed by six conservation and fishing organizations, the letter requests that our organizations be granted the opportunity to observe and provide input on the development of the Water Quality Attainment Plan (WQAP) for the lower Snake River dams.
The lower Snake River dams and specifically heat pollution in their reservoirs, kill large numbers of endangered salmon beyond what is allowed by the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The Army Corps and Washington State Dept. of Ecology will soon launch the process to develop a WQAP and determine immediate and long-term actions necessary to reduce significant heat pollution in the river. This process is hugely important, and we’re grateful to Washington State for requiring the ACOE to undertake this effort. We are asking that they do so with additional stakeholder and expert input to ensure it leads to sustained solutions. Agency transparency and public participation in this process will be important for understanding our options to develop lasting solutions that work for the river, water quality, ESA-listed fish, and our communities.
3. Introducing the new cohort of NextGen Salmon Collective leaders!
We are thrilled to introduce you to the new leaders joining the NextGen Salmon Collective! From Walla Walla, to Spokane, to Bellingham, to Tacoma, to Eugene, we are excited to begin organizing and educating communities across the Northwest on the importance of salmon and orca recovery. Learn more about Abby P., Bo W., Emily H., Eva H., George S., Jess L., Reggie W., Ryan M., and Virginia O. here!
In the first semester, many students have already been busy tabling on campus, organizing film screenings, putting up Get Out the Vote posters around campus and their communities, organizing field trips and presentations, coordinating with media outlets, and more!
NextGen Salmon Collective is a space for young advocates to harness their advocacy through education and community building - focused on developing leadership skills and advancing environmental justice and equity, protecting and restoring healthy ecosystems, and abundant salmon in the Columbia-Snake River Basin. By empowering the next generation of environmental leaders, we aim to expand and fortify the network of youth advocates across the Northwest.
If you have any questions about NextGen Salmon Collective, reach out to Abby Dalke, Outreach Coordinator, at abby@wildsalmon.org.
4. Celebrate Native American Heritage Month!
The Snake River to Salish Sea Spirit of the Waters Totem Pole Journey. Photo by Phred Lane
November is recognized as Native American Heritage Month. This month, and every day, we honor Indigenous people and communities, their histories, cultures, traditions, and ancestral knowledge passed down from generations that hold sacred obligations to restore the natural world and people to balance.
Since time immemorial, Tribes have been the original stewards and continuously lead efforts to protect and restore sacred waters, lands, air, salmon, and orca to ensure each generation has a healthy, prosperous, and just future. It is with great honor, we share a few opportunities to celebrate Native American Heritage Month:
Save the date for the premiere of All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca, a short film produced by Se’Si’Le
Save the Date! On November 19, join us for the premiere of All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca, a moving short film capturing the essence of an Indigenous-centered event that took place during Orca Action Month (June 2024).
All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca, produced by Se’Si’Le, highlights Indigenous communities' ancient kinship with orcas and salmon, and the importance of reciprocity in our relationship with our caretaker: Mother Nature. You’ll hear powerful Indigenous voices delivering somber and urgent narratives and learn about the Southern Resident orcas whose survival, like the survival of Indigenous lifeways here in the Pacific Northwest, depends on scha’enexw (the Salmon People).
Watch the recording of Children of the Setting Sun's Netse Mot: One People Gathering
On October 22, Children of the Setting Sun hosted a powerful event, Netse Mot: One People Gathering. “Netse Mot,” or “One heart, one mind,” reflects our collective commitment to shared humanity and values of gratitude, generosity, and respect in a divided world.
"In the face of threats like war, political unrest, climate change, and cultural differences, it's time to confront these challenges and rise above them as one united force—One People." You can watch a recording of the event and hear from inspiring speakers and performers calling for healing and unity: Dallas GoldTooth, Amy Bowers Cordalis, Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe, Delbert Anderson, James Jones, Sammy Gensaw iii, Black Lodge Singers, Fawn Wood, Tia Wood, and WestShore Canoe Family.
5. Autumn Spawn: A Salmon’s Journey
By Robin Koontz
Greetings! I am Robin Koontz, and I am pleased to have been granted this space to make a special announcement: Save Our wild Salmon Coalition has released my children’s book about the life cycle of Pacific salmon. Autumn Spawn: A Salmon’s Journey, follows a single salmon’s life cycle – beginning with her birth and journey from stream to ocean; then her travels back upstream to her ancestral spawning grounds where she lays her eggs and eventually dies. Her journey is a story of relentless survival that has evolved over millions of years.
I am an author and/or illustrator of over a hundred books for children aged preschool and up and a Northwest Artists Against Extinction (NWAAE) collaborative artist. My partner and I have lived in the Siuslaw Watershed for over 44 years and are witness to the plight of salmon in the spawning stream on our property, spending years trying to restore the damaged habitat. I was inspired to write a poem about the life cycle of a single salmon, and recently decided to illustrate it using live-edge applique and machine quilting. I also decided to donate the book to a worthy cause for salmon habitat restoration. The thought that I might be able to use my art to contribute to the cause was one reason I kept plugging away at the project for over three years.
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Head to Northwest Artists Against Extinction's website to purchase Autumn Spawn today! All proceeds will go to SOS. We are so thankful to Robin Koontz for donating this book to support SOS' work to recover salmon and steelhead in the Columbia-Snake River Basin!
Learn more about NWAAE artist, Robin Koontz and you can read more about the origin story of this project on Robin's blog: Save Our Wild Salmon and Creating Autumn Spawn, A Salmon's Journey.
6. Remembering Bob Sallinger – a giant in Oregon’s conservation community
It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of Bob Sallinger's passing. As the stories below reflect, for decades, Bob has been a giant in the Oregon conservation community. He was indefatigable as an advocate; he cared deeply for the lands, waters, birds, fish and other wildlife of his Pacific Northwest home. Bob was warm, thoughtful, generous, creative, and totally committed.
Vicki Walker, director of the Department of State Lands, worked closely with Sallinger. “Bob Sallinger was an Oregon wonder, a human as special as the places and creatures he loved and protected,” Walker says. “Bob’s legacy is all around us. It’s the hoot of the owls in the Elliott State Research Forest, a cannonball into the Willamette River, peregrines dancing across the sky.” Sallinger is survived by his wife, Elisabeth, and three children.
He leaves behind a huge community of friends and colleagues and a powerful legacy of accomplishments that will benefit Pacific Northwest inhabitants – human and non-human – for generations to come. We will miss Bob’s friendship, his effective advocacy, and his readiness to lean in and collaborate with others.
- Pillar of Oregon’s conservation community dead at 57
- Bob Sallinger, 'the face of conservation in Portland,' dies suddenly at 57
- Bob Sallinger, a Giant in Oregon’s Environmental Community, Dies at 57
7. Join in for Giving Tuesday (December 3) and SOS’ Year End Giving Campaign!
This year's Giving Tuesday is coming up quickly on Dec. 3 - and kicks off our year-end giving campaign. Your generous support (as well as your advocacy) is critical to ensure we have the resources we need to advance our work together to protect and restore recover salmon and orcas, and defend our region's special way of life. With the new political landscape, SOS' smart, relentless and collaborative work with you and other partners and allies will be more important than ever to support the leadership of - and hold accountable - state and federal policymakers to defend our lands, waters and fish and wildlife and the irreplaceable benefits they bring to our communities, cultures, and ecosystems.
We’ll soon share our year-end review highlighting some of our 2024 accomplishments, with a look ahead to 2025. Our successes at Save Our wild Salmon over the last year are truly the result of our coordinated work with coalition partners and allies and the support of individual people LIKE YOU who care deeply about the future of wild salmon and steelhead and endangered orcas. Thank you!
With your support and advocacy, SOS has covered a lot of ground in 2024. This work wouldn’t be possible without you, and we’re incredibly grateful for your support and partnership. We appreciate it, and you!
If you have any questions about our program work or supporting SOS, please reach out: Joseph Bogaard (joseph@wildsalmon.org). Thank you!
Here are a couple of recent stories about the urgency and opportunity today for salmon recovery and river restoration:
