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Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Puget Sound Salmon: Habitat sans fish
If salmon could only evolve into smaller, slower and less-finicky species, the latest federal reaffirmation of commitment to their "recovery" might be an ironclad guarantee. Presumably, the redesigned salmon would be content with the scaled-back federal definition of their habitat.
National Marine Fisheries Service has shrunk the amount of habitat considered critical to the recovery of 19 threatened types of salmon and steelhead in Puget Sound, the rest of the Northwest and California. It was the expected move, and since overall recovery plans are more important, may mean little to the fish, as the service argues.
But it's disturbing to see habitat protection minimized. That lends to the impression that federal efforts under the Endangered Species Act are aimed at preserving fish species in numbers far reduced from the past abundance. The feds' use of economic considerations is emblematic: Fish should be preserved, but at a nice price. As environmentalists argue, it's hard to figure how that fits the law's intent.
Salmon swim long distances, and they need clean water and plenty of areas to spawn. Culturally, environmentally and recreationally, the Puget Sound area needs robust fish runs, not tiny fish museums. Whatever area is designated critical habitat, it is vital to base recovery plans on a large vision of genuinely strong fish stocks.
 | |
| Should federal, state and local efforts aim to restore salmon runs to historic levels? | |
 78.5%Yes |
19.2% No |
| 2.2% Not sure or don't care |
|
| Total Votes: 312 | |
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