The Roadshow has made it to our nation's capital! Bill, Nate, and Fin have crossed over 10,000 miles of highway, stopped in dozens of cities, talked to thousands of people and collected hundreds of postcards to members of Congress. The Roadshow went a long way in raising the awareness about both the crisis facing Columbia & Snake River salmon to deliver this simple message to Congress: remove the four lower Snake River dams, save taxpayer dollars in the process, and restore the national treasure of wild salmon.
In DC the Roadshow was rejoined by Save Our Wild Salmon staff and salmon advocates from across the country to help bring this message to our elected officials.
Pictured here are anglers, commercial fisherman, conservationists, voters and citizens from Oregon, California, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan who have gathered in Washington to meet with congress seeking solutions to the crisis facing salmon runs on the Snake River.
We want to see a legislative solution to the problems facing Snake River Salmon. We can remove these four Snake River dams and find solve the salmon crisis in a way that works for communities of the Northwest and taxpayers nationwide. The solutions are there; we can transfer grain from barges to rails; we can replace the hydroelectric capacity with other carbon-free, sustainable sources like wind and solar in addition to conservation; we can upgrade pumps to allow irrigators access to water. We can save these salmon.
We can save the salmon because they represent real jobs for commercial fisherman, their families and the coastal communities they live in. We can save them because they bring angling opportunities for sport anglers, and the jobs and revenue these anglers generate. We can save them because wild salmon are about the most healthy food on the planet: lean protein rich in Omega-3's. We can save these salmon because they are an icon on The Pacific Northwest, and a National Treasure.
We can save Snake River salmon. But not without leadership from Congress. With the collapse of Salmon that is occurring coast-wide, and from our conversations with people across the country, Congressional action is needed now, more than ever.
It's been a long road for Bill, Nate and Fin. But if it means we are that much closer to removing the Lower Snake River dams and restoring wild salmon runs, it was well worth the journey. We couldn't have done it without a lot of help along the way. This is a huge, heartfelt Thank You to everyone (there are far too many to name) who helped make the Road Show feel at home wherever we were. Special thanks go out to our partners at American Whitewater, Conservation Alliance, Federation of Fly Fishers, NW Energy Coalition, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Patagonia, Sierra Club, Slow Food USA, Trout Unlimited
Throughout our travels, we were fueled by the enthusiasm folks had for the issue, and carried their message all the way to the Capitol. If Congress can act with the same enthusiasm, we will save the Snake River Salmon.
These four fish in front of the Capitol represent the four Sockeye Salmon that returned to Redfish Lake last year. Only Four of these majestic fish made it to a lake named for it's abundance of salmon.
