Salmon Without Rivers: A History Of The Pacific Salmon Crisis

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The image of salmon battling upstream through whitewater cataracts to spawn in their birthplace is integral to any happy vision of the Pacific Northwest. Sadly, because they face more insidious obstacles than swift currents, few people today actually witness this remarkable spectacle. Armed with exhaustive research and an ability to synthesize his findings into a concise, readable indictment of the status quo, Jim Lichatowich, a fisheries scientist for 30 years, traces the sudden decline of Northwest salmon populations following the onset of Euro-American settlement. He points a finger at the usual suspects: logging, mining, damming, grazing, irrigation, commercial fishing, and development. Moreover, he cites the political establishment for a failure of nerve. Since the shift from a Native American "gift" economy based on sustainability to a profit economy based on self-interest and short-term financial gain, the historically resilient salmon have met one adversary after another, with little or no help from the legal apparatus charged with their protection. In fact, federal and state governments have responded to the deepening crisis mainly by building fish hatcheries up and down the West Coast. Contrary to the beliefs of entrenched bureaucrats and sport fishermen, says Lichatowich, hatcheries have merely diluted the gene pools of wild stocks while allowing resource extractors to continue their multifarious operations and politicians to shirk their responsibilities. In 1960, for instance, after decades of declining runs, the Washington Department of Fisheries reported, incredibly (and characteristically), that new advanced management techniques would soon result in "salmon without a river"--more welcome news to those who would continue to exploit these iconic fish and their habitat. At the dawn of the 21st century hundreds of hatcheries still operate, yet Northwest salmon populations have decreased 95 percent.

Lichatowich is a learned and persuasive advocate for wild salmon. He's also eloquent, as in this description of his first visit to the Columbia River's Grand Coulee dam:

As I sat there wondering and swatting mosquitoes, the face of the dam lit up. It was the start of the nightly laser show.... Appropriately, the lasers sent a series of large green dollar signs floating through the darkness. Then a series of laser salmon swam across the face of the dam. Here were the ideal salmon, I thought, the fish that fit perfectly into our worldview. We have complete control over them--press a button and they appear; press another and they change from green to red; press another and they swim over the dam. Salmon and dams are compatible--as long as you are not particular about the kind of salmon.

So what to do? Lichatowich opines that we need a new "worldview," one that places natural resources within a context of respect and sustainability. He looks to state and federal governments to enforce the protections already granted by laws like the Endangered Species Act. And he sees evidence that public perceptions may be changing on such issues as habitat conservation and biodiversity; breaching four dams on the lower Snake River to aid fish passage would have been unthinkable even in the early 1990s. Whether this new worldview can save salmon in time is another question. --Langdon Cook

Book Description

"Fundamentally, the salmon's decline has been the consequence of a vision based on flawed assumptions and unchallenged myths.... We assumed we could control the biological productivity of salmon and 'improve' upon natural processes that we didn't even try to understand. We assumed we could have salmon without rivers." --from the introduction

From a mountain top where an eagle carries a salmon carcass to feed its young to the distant oceanic waters of the California current and the Alaskan Gyre, salmon have penetrated the Northwest to an extent unmatched by any other animal. Since the turn of the twentieth century, the natural productivity of salmon in Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho has declined by eighty percent. The decline of Pacific salmon to the brink of extinction is a clear sign of serious problems in the region.

In Salmon Without Rivers, fisheries biologist Jim Lichatowich offers an eye-opening look at the roots and evolution of the salmon crisis in the Pacific Northwest. He describes the multitude of factors over the past century and a half that have led to the salmon's decline, and examines in depth the abject failure of restoration efforts that have focused almost exclusively on hatcheries to return salmon stocks to healthy levels without addressing the underlying causes of the decline. The book:

describes the evolutionary history of the salmon along with the geologic history of the Pacific Northwest over the past 40 million years
considers the indigenous cultures of the region, and the emergence of salmon-based economies that survived for thousands of years
examines the rapid transformation of the region following the arrival of Europeans
presents the history of efforts to protect and restore the salmon
offers a critical assessment of why restoration efforts have failed

Throughout, Lichatowich argues that the dominant worldview of our society -- a worldview that denies connections between humans and the natural world -- has created the conflict and controversy that characterize the recent history of salmon; unless that worldview is challenged and changed, there is little hope for recovery. Salmon Without Rivers exposes the myths that have guided recent human-salmon interactions. It clearly explains the difficult choices facing the citizens of the region, and provides unique insight into one of the most tragic chapters in our nation's environmental history.

Customer Reviews:

Peter Morrison.......2005-09-11

This is a must read book for anyone interested in salmon, rivers and the ecology and history of the Pacific Northwest. Excellent information and a good read.

Great read.......2005-08-02

This is an excellent book that documents the history of salmon, how native Americans viewed them and how modern Americans view them. It focuses on why the pacific northwest is facing a salmon crisis, and our failed attempts to replace what we have lost. Great read for anyone who is concerned about environmental issues.

Pacific Northwest Salmon History Book.......2003-12-02

Salmon Without Rivers is a great book of historical facts. It includes many issues like; original salmon locations/populations, "Economy over Environment" issues, and the ineffectiveness of large decision making commissions/agencies. However, with all his good background information the book does not propose any solutions nor investigates today's coastal human communities as they relate to the salmon and/or habitat.

A captivating, human, informed book.......2001-01-16

As a freelance author writing a piece about salmon for a California-based magazine, this book was indispensible and eye-opening. It is unfailingly sensitive and intelligent about salmon, discussing the fish as fellow creatures in the "natural economy" in which we all live, rather than as mere commodities in the "industrial economy" that has transformed the West in the last 150 years. It is fascinating about the geology that shaped the salmon's environment, the evolutionary history of the fish, the relationship between Native Americans and salmon in the Northwest, and it provides a detailed history of the many factors that have led to the salmon's decline, including habitat destruction, misbegotten hatchery programs, overfishing, dams, mining, grazing, irrigation. If you like to read books about ecology, the creatures of the earth, fish, or the Northwest--you can't go wrong. This is a wonderful book.

Save the salmon and us.......2000-12-24

A thoroughly researched and impassioned presentation including the history of salmon, their decline, why billions of tax dollars in restoration efforts have had paltry returns, and insights into the where we should go from here. A complex issue is examined from many perspectives in an easy to read and compelling book. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in salmon.

The Si'lailo Way: Indians, Salmon, and Law on the Columbia River

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A Free-flowing Masterpiece

The Si'lailo Way: Indians, Salmon, and Law on the Columbia River
Joseph C. Dupris , Kathleen S. Hill , and William H. Rodgers
Manufacturer: Carolina Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Environmental & Natural Resources Law | Law | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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When the River Ran Wild! Indian Traditions on the Mid-Columbia and the Warm Springs Reservation
American Indian Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study (Basic Ethics in Action)
Death of Celilo Falls (Emil and Kathleen Sick Lecture Book Series)
Recovering The Sacred: The Power Of Naming And Claiming
Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations

ASIN: 1594600856

Product Description

This book traces more than a century of legal, political, and social battles waged by Columbia River Indians as they fought for the survival of wild salmon and their inherent right to harvest them. Many of the stories focus on Celilo Falls, a place of captivating natural beauty and spirituality that also served as a trade center for tribes throughout the Northwest. Celilo Falls disappeared under the backwaters of The Dalles dam in March of 1957.

The stories are told through the eyes and words of the people, especially the Indian people, who lived through them -- from the 1855 Walla Walla Treaty Council proceedings through the fraudulent purchase of the Warm Springs Tribe's fishing rights (via the so-called Huntington Treaty) to the negotiations and payments made for the flooding of Celilo Falls. Each chapter features the creative (and often highly effective) legal means invoked by the Indians to protect their fisheries and their way of life. Several documents of historical value are reproduced in the appendix.

The Foreword is written by Vine Deloria, Jr.

Customer Reviews:

A Free-flowing Masterpiece .......2006-07-17

This book emphasizes what everybody shoud have done for a long time : listening to the Indians of the Pacific Northwest to protect the rivers and salmon. Serious and sometimes irreparable damages have been made on these rivers and salmon because of a continuing destruction or bad management by greedy or selfish nonIndians. It is time now to respect the Si'lailo Way and to restore the rivers following this way.

Alaska Rainbows: Fly-Fishing for Trout and Salmon in Alaska (River Journal)

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Alaskan rainbow trout, salmon, and other game fish species
A gorgeous guide filled with splendid full-color photographs

Alaska Rainbows: Fly-Fishing for Trout and Salmon in Alaska (River Journal)
Larry Tullis
Manufacturer: Frank Amato Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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Alaska Fishing on a Budget: A First-Timer's Guide to Organizing and Planning an Economy Salmon Fishing Trip to the Last Frontier

ASIN: 1571882510

Book Description

Alaska is the world's leading coldwater fly-fishing destination. In Alaska Rainbow's, Larry Tullis shares what you need to know to enjoy a successful trip to Alaska, whether you are fishing with a guide or want to try a do-it-yourself trip. Tullis includes: Alaska trout habits and food; techniques and tackle; fly patterns; other Alaska species; Russian rainbows; Alaskan wildlife; Planning an Alaskan trip; conservation; and more. Quit procrastinating, start planning your Alaskan adventure, Alaska Rainbow's will help make it a success.

Customer Reviews:

Alaskan rainbow trout, salmon, and other game fish species.......2002-08-11

Alaska Rainbows: Fly-fishing For Trout, Salmon, & Other Alaskan Species by experienced guide and angler Larry Tullis offers a wealth of "user friendly" information about Alaskan rainbow trout, salmon, and other game fish species common to the Alaskan wilderness. Ranging from their habits and foods to optimal fly patterns and fishing tips, tricks, as well as proven techniques designed specifically to capture them for delicious feasting, the information presented is accurate, authoritative, comprehensive, and practical. Eighteen fly plates and a fly-pattern chart round out this superbly presented, tell-all guide for fly fishers interested in making the most their expeditions to Alaskan waters.

A gorgeous guide filled with splendid full-color photographs.......2002-03-24

Alaska Rainbows: Fly-Fishing for Trout, Salmon, & Other Alaskan Species by fishing professional Larry Tullis is a gorgeous guide filled with splendid full-color photographs and packed with detailed information on how to catch the best fish and enjoy oneself while doing it in the rugged Alaskan wilderness. Chapters cover trout habitats, fly patterns, Alaskan wildlife, planning a trip to Alaska and much more. Alaska Rainbows is very highly recommended for anyone contemplating a fishing trip to Alaska!

Return to the River: The Classic Story of the Chinook Run and of the Men Who Fish It

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Return to the River: The Classic Story of the Chinook Run and of the Men Who Fish It
Roderick L. Haig-Brown
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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To Know a River: A Haig-Brown Reader
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ASIN: 1558215816

Handbook to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River

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Details about the Middlefork handbook

Handbook to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River
Quinn's
Manufacturer: Frank Amato Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0944664032

Book Description

This book contains detailed river maps which show the location of rapids and campsites. "How-to" sections discuss each rapid and the best ways to negotiate them. Many locations of historic significance are pointed out and interesting stories told with lots of historic photographs.

Included also is river flow information, best fishing areas, safety, equipment, launch sites, shuttle information as well as detailed sections discussing the major plant and wildlife.

Customer Reviews:

Details about the Middlefork handbook.......2000-07-18

This book is detailed (sometimes too much) but overall a timeless guide to the Middlefork. Descriptions and places to visit are still true to the book.

Book Description

In the middle of the nineteenth century, most of New Brunswick was pristine wilderness. But by the end of the century the map of eastern Canada would be changed forever by the sport of salmon angling, and by the adventurers, gentlemen, rakes, and royalty, who were drawn together in their lust for the finest of fish. In Lost Land of Moses, Peter Thomas recounts the dramatic changes that occurred between 1840 and 1880, as strenuous wilderness idylls became the Victorian equivalent of adventure tourism. To illustrate his story, he has chosen more than fifty engravings, cartoons, maps, and photographs from archival collections and 19th century books and magazines. Moses Perley was a New Brunswick lawyer with a gift for contagious enthusiasm. Between 1839 and 1841, he published a series of articles in the British magazine Sporting Review describing his canoe trips with Micmac or Maliseet companions. The articles inspired a generation of young adventurers to visit New Brunswick. Soon, these young British gentlemen were joined by the rich and famous, as steamships brought fishermen right to the rivers, and needs were supplied by professional outfitters. In 1879, the Marquess of Lorne, then Governor General of Canada, and his daring wife, Princess Louise, spent two glorious weeks on the Restigouche, complete with a vice-regal retinue, a houseboat called Great Caesar's Ghost, and carpeted tents. The New Brunswick salmon waters were open for business. Many of the consequences of this influx were dire. Leases were let on the rivers, allowing only wealthy people to fish them. They founded clubs, built expansive camps, and hired wardens to patrol the pools. Most troubling of all, by the 1880s, the Micmac and Maliseet, at first respected as knowledgeable guides into their own territory, had been reduced to being perceived as mere servants. Moses Perley never foresaw the changes that large numbers of visitors would bring to New Brunswick's teeming salmon rivers. Lost Land of Moses reveals the consequences of his crusade to lure fly fishermen to New Brunswick. For good and ill, the legacy of those forty years is with us today.

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California's Smith River
George Burdick
Manufacturer: Frank Amato Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

The Smith is one of California's finest steelhead and salmon streams, professional fishing guide Burdick tells you about the river and how to fish it, including many fishing tips he has learned over the years. You will enjoy reading about this fascinating river that produces some of the largest steelhead and Chinook on the Pacific coast and which flows through a beautiful, but rugged paradise. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches.

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Salmon on the Rocks!
River Salmon Fishing

River Salmon Fishing
Bill Stinson
Manufacturer: Frank Amato Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0936608463

Customer Reviews:

Salmon on the Rocks!.......2007-03-26

This was and remains an interesting book. A fun read that walks you through the basics of river salmon fishing. Here in the Northwest it is Humpback (Pink) salmon seqason coming in the fall of 2007. So truely a book the will help the beginning and occasional weekend warrior, too.

I have quite a number of fishing books and value this one second to none. Highly recommended, solid investment in your river lessons with salmon. Injects humor, which is a great teaching tool! Fishing should be fun whether you catch fish or not.

Catch this book, first, and the fish will follow!

Tom Foster
[...]

River Salmon Fishing.......2003-04-01

Excellent Book, full of useful knowledge, good drawings, and black and white photos. Very easy reading, this will go on my shelf as a keeper!

To Know a River: A Haig-Brown Reader (Haig-Brown Readers)

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To Know a River: A Haig-Brown Reader (Haig-Brown Readers)
Roderick L. Haig-Brown
Manufacturer: Lyons and Burford Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Seasons of a Fisherman
Return to the River: The Classic Story of the Chinook Run and of the Men Who Fish It
The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing
The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man's Recreation
Traver on Fishing (On)

ASIN: 1558214992

Amazon.com

Roderick Haig-Brown, an Englishman and avid angler, spent most of his life on the banks of Vancouver Island's renowned Campbell River, watching the annual migration of birds, game, fish, and the people who hunted them for sport and subsistence. Few will ever know moving water like Haig-Brown. In spare, graceful prose, he captures the inherent mystery of his foggy riparian landscape. To Know a River is a collection of some of his finest pieces, essays not just for devotees of fly-fishing but for anyone who appreciates first-rate writing on the outdoors. It is true, though, that Haig-Brown occupies a near-mythical space on the fly fisher's bookshelf as a prose stylist and as a sort of dignitary; in the foreword to this edition, Thomas McGuane writes of Haig-Brown, "In person, he was considerably more presidential than our last five presidents, and if he had possessed just a sliver of vigorous fraudulence, he might well have risen to a great political prominence."

Book Description

Roderick Haig-Brown has been hailed as one of the great writers on fly fishing and its many moods since his work was first published it the 1930s. Today his writings about the rivers he loved, the trout and salmon that obsessed him, and the life of an angler are as stirring, amusing, and powerfully felt as they were when first published.

In seven parts, the book moves from discovering the river to the fish that live in it, from the art of fishing to the philosophy that underlies it. The 54 sparkling essays in this collection - the only compilation of essays from his many famous titles - include such classics as "Fly Types," a meditation on the appropriate flies for different conditions; "Perfect Morning," in which he shares the joys of the catch; and "What is Good?", a musing about luck.

Illustrated with 16 black-and-white plates and brimming with the sights, smells, and tastes of the river, this stunning collection is a beautiful tribute to fly fishing and love of the land. (6 X 9, 384 pages, illustrations)

Salmon River (River Journal, Vol 3, No 2, 1995)
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The captivating tour to a truly memorable fly fishing trip

Good Pictures, a Useful Map, and Great Flyfishing Info

Salmon River (River Journal, Vol 3, No 2, 1995)
Rick Kustich
Manufacturer: Frank Amato Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fishing | Hunting & Fishing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1571880046

Amazon.com

With chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, brown trout, and rainbows, New York's Salmon River offers an unusually diverse lineup for the fly-fisher, and each species requires a different approach. Learn more about the river from an angler's perspective, including where to wet a line and what flies to use, from this edition of the River Journal series. The book's large, color format, sumptuous photography, and lively, descriptive text bring the river and its angling possibilities to life. Like other volumes in this series from Frank Amato Publications, the river's history, wildlife, hydraulics, and fishing conditions are described in detail for the angler's benefit.

Book Description

This River Journal is one book in a continueing series highlighting the premier North American fly fishing rivers. For continuity, each issue is authored by one experiences writer/angler. Professional color photographs show the river in all its seasonal moods. Helpful area maps provide access information for anglers including river drifting, campgrounds, boat launching, shuttling, etc. There is much practical, insider fly-fishing help including timing of different insect hatches, matching flies to use, lodging, guide and fly shop services, additional bibliography, map sources, phone numbers, and addresses.

Each book in this series provides curious anglers with an in-depth, total experience of one river per issue and its fish and fly fishing opportunities: its beauty *through color photography), its fly fishing throughout the year, its natural history as well as angling history (including noted personalities who have contributed to the fabric of the river's fly-fishing lore), and the special fly patterns created for the river as well as standard patterns that work well, all beautifully shown in color plates.

Look for these other famous river in this book series: Madison (MT), Silver Creek (ID), Green River (UT), Kenai (AK), Yakima (WA), Thompson (BC), Pere Marquette (MI), Henry's Fork (ID), Big Hole (MT), Penn's Creek (PA), Yellowstone Park (WY), Upper Sacramento (CA), McKenzie (OR), Miramichi (New Brunswick), Rio Grande (CO/NM), Clark Fork (MT), Au Sable (MI), Crane Prairie/Upper Deschutes River (OR), North Platte (CO), Rogue River (OR), White River (AR), Grande Ronde (OR), and Delaware (NY).

Customer Reviews:

The captivating tour to a truly memorable fly fishing trip.......2004-04-04

Dazzling full color photography hallmark River Journal - Salmon River by Rick Kustich as an impressive, informative, and captivating tour to a truly memorable fly fishing trip. The thoughtfully detailed narration brings to life the facts and the wonder of experiencing the great outdoors, as well as enjoying the rewards of one's prize catch. A delightful account River Journal: Salmon River is enthusiastically recommended reading for avid fisherman and armchair anglers alike.

Good Pictures, a Useful Map, and Great Flyfishing Info.......1999-01-07

This book has many good looking color pictures of this river in north-west upstate New York. It includes a very useful map which has river access points clearly indicated. It also suggests flies and flyfishing techniques that may be useful. However, it is strictly a flyfishing book (the book title should have included the word "flyfishing" in my opinion). Nevertheless, I recommend this book to everyone who is interested to fish in Salmon River because I don't think we can find another book which covers this specific topic.

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