New State Report Shows Salmon Populations Still on the Brink

Washington State's salmon appear to largely still be on the brink of extinction after a new study was released by the Governor's Salmon Recovery Office.

Of the 14 species of salmon in Washington State listed as threatened or endangered, 10 are not making progress and 5 are in crisis.

Spokesperson Susan Zemek said that the biggest threat to salmon currently is the way Washington has been growing its cities and industries. With the state's population expected to increase by 1.4 million in the next 20 years, more habitat is being damaged than can be restored.

Zemek also pointed to climate change as a reason for the continued struggles Washington salmon populations are largely experiencing. Global warming is causing mountain glaciers to disappear. Those glaciers feed cold, clean water to salmon-bearing streams during the summer.

The report states several recommendations for improving salmon populations. They include adapting land-use and other regulations to accommodate salmon, restoring flood plains and estuaries, improving fish passage by removing barriers to migration, and fully funding salmon recovery.

Despite the need for improvement, the state has seen some progress.

"We've had several large dam removal projects." Zemek said, "There are also efforts underway to put salmon above dams that are still blocking, such as the Chief Joseph Dam near Bridgeport and the Grand Coulee Dam near Grand Coulee."

The full report, titled State of Salmon in Watersheds, can be found here.