I'm going to do a research paper for college (yes, even in your 40's you can be educated ) on the decline of anadramous fish in the Northwest. Could you point me to some titles of references that I may find at my local library? And perhaps a few web sites, also?

Thanks to anyone that can help. You know, an old man's mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Goharley,

Some materials that come to mind are these:

Anthony Netboy chronicled the decline in Columbia River runs, but I forget the title. His name should bring it up in a search, however.

Return to the River by the Independent Scientific Group, 1996, from the Northwest Power Planning Council.

Status Review of Chinook Salmom from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California. 1998. U.S. Dept. of Commerce. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NWFSC-35.

The impact of environmental and management factors on Washington's wild anadromous salmon and trout. 1993. John F. Palisano, et.al.

1992 Washington State salmon and steelhead stock inventory (SASSI). WDF, WDW, & Western WA treaty Indian tribes. (supplemented in 1997, I think.)

There are more, but these should get you started.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Perhaps the two most recent summaries of the decline of Pacific salmon in the Columbia Basin and elsewhere is Jim Lichatowich's book 'Salmon Without Rivers" (Island Press, 1999) and "A Common Fate. Endangered Salmon and the people of the PNW" by Joseph Cone (Henry Holt, 1995). Both of these boks can be found at most large book stores, such as Powell's. They are a good read and can provide lots of citations to other sources. Good luck.

Goharley-
Might try going to:
www.wa.gov/wdfw/recovery.htm
Should find several web sites that would be helpful.

The SaSI document that Salmo referred to is bing updated should be available soon.

National Marine Fisheries Service has done a number of species status reviews (steelhead was in 1994 I time with one of the authors being Busby). Pinks, chum, sockeye and Salmo referred to the chinook have had status review.

Bull trout have been listed by USFWS with the Puget Sound/Coast DPS listed in 1999. Draft recovery chapters are out for the Columbia.

Each of those documents have extensive lit sections.

Good luck
Smalma

The governor's Salmon Recovery Report just came in my mailbox today...A well done and expensive looking report.. I will read it and report back. It opens with the governor's proclamation about extinction not being an option....hmmmmm...I'm skeptical already.

In my opinion, this is the best place for you to start, at least if you want a scientists perspective.

Nehlsen, W., J.E. Williams, and J. A. Lichatowich. 1991. Pacific Salmon at the crossroads: stocks at risk from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Fisheries 16(2):4-21.

Goharley,

I think that Lichatowich's "Salmon Without Rivers" is the best historical account that I've seen, by far...and for the most current stock assessments, the SASSI is hard to beat.

Since those have already been mentioned above, here are a few more...

Harden, Blaine. A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia

Mighetto, Lisa and Wesley J. Ebel. Saving the Salmon: A History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Efforts toProtect Anadromous Fish on the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Netboy, Anthony. The Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Trout: Their Fight for Survival. University ofWashington Press, 1980.

Independent Scientific Group. "Return to the River: Scientific Issues in the Restoration of Salmonid Fishes in the ColumbiaRiver." Fisheries[American Fisheries Society], March 1999. p. 10-19.

Wernstedt, Kris and Charles M. Paulsen. "Economic and Biological Analysis to Aid System Planning for Salmon Recoveryin the Columbia River Basin." Journal of Environmental Management, April 1995. p. 313-331.


Going to websites for the University of Washington School of Fisheries, Columbia Inter-Tribal Fisheries Commission (CRITFIC), the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC), the National Marine Fisheries Service, WDFW, and ODFW should all provide you with information.

As always, consider the source when you assess "facts" and "analyses" of those facts...lots of foks have agendas that include blaming the problem on resource users other than themselves.

If you dig hard enough, I remember a "study", using that term loosely, that said Columbia River salmon and steelhead had evolved so quickly that they've adapted to the dams, and that removing them would confuse the fish whose instincts now include swimming through the impoundments.

I think that study was funded by private irrigation districts in the Columbia Basin.

As I said, always consider the source!

Good luck...maybe you'll be so proud of your effort that you'll post it here?

Fish on...

Todd.

Another excellent book is Bruce Brown's Mountain in the Clouds...it does an excellent job explaining how the government faulted in protecting our wild salmonids...and how government waste accelerated their demise.

Thank you VERY much, guys. I honestly didn't expect to get so many references to choose from. Now it looks like I've got some serious reading ahead of me.

So...GoH...whatcha doin' in school?

Is the paper for a political science or lit class? Or are you preparing yourself for a career in the wonderful world of fisheries management?

If it's the former, good luck!

If it's the latter...uh...good luck

Good luck on your paper!

Fish on...

Todd.

He is not the only one apreciating all this.

thanks guys