The Uncomfortable Truth About Sea Lions and Salmon
Washington is spending about $1 million a day replacing salmon-blocking culverts under a federal court order, on the way to a projected $7 billion. Meanwhile, Chinook and steelhead heading home are getting picked off at the last checkpoint — by a fully recovered population of seals and sea lions protected by a 1972 federal law.
At Willamette Falls, targeted removals dropped the winter steelhead extinction risk from 89% to 11%. Now the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Puget Sound Anglers, and WDFW are all backing a bipartisan bill to allow limited removals in Washington. Charlie Harger on why he put this commentary off for years, and why he can't anymore.
Listen to Seattle's Morning News w/ Charlie Harger and Manda Factor every weekday at 5am on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM or go to MyNorthwest.com to learn more!
