McDermott Seeks to Craft New Strategy for Restoring Endangered Salmon and Steelhead in the Pacific Northwest

Press Release

Today, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) re-introduced the Salmon Solutions and Planning Act (H.R. 4097). The Act directs the federal government to study common-sense salmon restoration actions. This will ensure that Members of Congress have timely, peer-reviewed data on how key measures, such as the possibility of removing four dams on the lower Snake River, would affect both salmon and local communities. As a result, Congress will be able to make informed policy decisions about how best to move forward on this vital issue.

"We need a new approach to address the challenges that face the nation's iconic Pacific salmon and the communities and businesses that rely on this resource," Congressman McDermott said. "This legislation is designed to set us on a course to find new, innovative solutions that restore salmon, create jobs, and provide the infrastructure that the Pacific Northwest economy needs."

Pacific Northwest salmon was first listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1991, and since then the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service has struggled to implement effective plans to revive the salmon population. The wild salmon population that runs from the Pacific Ocean to the Columbia-Snake River Basin hovers around less than 2% today of its historic 30 million population.

For over a decade, Congressman McDermott has spearheaded efforts to revive the endangered salmon species, which provide significant economic, commercial, cultural, and recreational benefits to the region and nation as a whole.

Source