Re: “Federal judge orders protections for salmon on Columbia River” (Feb. 26, Climate Lab):

As an ecologist who has lived in this area for over 35 years, I was encouraged to read that a federal judge has ordered operational changes to eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in order to lessen their harm to wild salmon and steelhead.

These magnificent fish impart far-reaching ecological gifts. The body of each Pacific salmon is a dense packet of marine nutrients built up during their years of growth in the ocean. Their return to our rivers and streams nourishes plants, trees, our soil and our wildlife, supporting not only aquatic food webs, but also land-based ones. These systems, when healthy, provide the foundations of our prosperity. Without healthy salmon runs, entire systems that we depend on for our own well-being will be less productive and our own lives poorer.

From what I understand, the ruling did not do everything that many of us had hoped for, but it still represents much-needed progress in our effort to protect salmon. Knowing what we know about the ecological, cultural and economic importance of Pacific salmon, it would be unconscionable to not do everything we can to restore these runs for ourselves and for the future.

James Evans,

Vashon

Seattle-Times Letters to the Editor: Salmon: Much-needed progress