A lot is being written about California’s salmon runs (some of it here). Given the multiple viewpoints, the range of stakeholders, and the number of possible solutions, it can get damned confusing.
What is the bigger picture?
I stumbled on a kickass article — an overview that covers most of the bases. Titled The State of the Salmon, it’s the source of a lot of insight, including realities like:
The easiest thing to say about restoring salmon populations in California is that it is complicated. First, it concerns water. Second, it involves a messy plethora of interested groups. Consider the number of federal agencies involved: nine. Think about the number of California state, county, and city departments with stakes in this issue: about 30. Then dwell on all the businesses, nonprofit groups, universities, private-property owners, and Native American tribes that have an interest, and it becomes clear that the 150 or so partners in restoration represent a diverse group — and that’s just for the Central Valley.
Source: The State of the Salmon
If you have ever been confused about the different salmon runs in California — or the state of many of them — then this article is a worthwhile way to spend a few minutes.
It touches base with habitat losses, current runs, dangers — even the recent gains in population and habitat restoration. Excellent reading.
After all, smarter is almost always better.
[tags]salmon, california, klamath river, chinook, sacramento river[/tags]
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