Pete Frost, an attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, shared his thoughts about one topic close to his heart:
As you may know, most wild salmon and steelhead trout runs in the West are dwindling. The size of many runs is now less than 10% of historical numbers, and hatchery fish—not wild fish—make up most of these runs. If the native wild salmon and steelhead trout runs in our home region are to survive, immediate action is required.
The nonprofit I work for, the Western Environmental Law Center, uses a powerful tool to fight for wild salmon and steelhead—the law.
Our legal team is in court day after day challenging reckless logging projects that pollute streams, and advocating for increased flows to give wild fish the water they need. We are also working to curb motorized suction dredge mining in wild fish habitat, to prevent spawning grounds from being destroyed.
We are advocating to remove dams and establish safe passage for fish at dams including Cougar Dam on Oregon’s McKenzie River, Enloe Dam on Washington’s Similkameen River, and Electron Dam on Washington’s Puyallup River.
We are also addressing the harm caused by fish hatcheries. Biologists have found that hatchery-bred fish can prey on, out-compete, or interbreed with wild fish. That’s why we filed suit to reform fish hatcheries on the Mad and Trinity rivers in California, and on the Sandy and McKenzie rivers in Oregon. By reducing the number of hatchery fish released into our rivers, or changing the timing of when they are released, we can help recover native wild salmon and steelhead runs.
This work will not be easy, but we are committed to this fight, and are in it for the long haul. That’s why we are honored to partner with Mountain Rose Herbs—an environmentally responsible company that is also dedicated to protecting wild fish.
To inspire others to take action during the month of August, Mountain Rose Herbs will match all donations to Western Environmental Law Center dollar-for-dollar up to $5000. This is a great opportunity to double the impact of your gift to help protect the West’s wild salmon and steelhead. We support the courageous and meaningful work of the Western Environmental Law Center!
About WELC
The Western Environmental Law Center is a nonprofit, public-interest environmental law firm that uses the power of the law to defendwild salmon and steelhead, and to safeguard the environment and communities of the American West.
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