Policies are often put in place without regards for the effect it will have on other areas, people, or wildlife. Several examples of these unintended consequences are shown in the documentary Salmon: Running the Gauntlet, which explains the effects that human activity, dams, and attempts to repopulate the salmon species have been implemented and failed. With proper evaluation at the onset of a major project, these severe consequences may be avoided.
The PBS documentary begins by explaining the normal life cycle of salmon, focusing primarily on the sockeye salmon population. This Pacific salmon once was found abundantly in the Columbia and Snake River, but as rivers were straightened and dams were built to meet the needs of population growth the fish population has diminished by the thousands.
This loss of salmon life in the river system greatly affected the nutrient levels in the rivers. As stated in the film, the sockeye provided
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The warm, slow-moving waters created by the dams are ideal living conditions for the pike minnow that were found to be eating the hatchlings. A bounty was created for catching the pike minnows, creating additional funds that must be spent in order to encourage the salmon to survive. Fish transportation was also implemented to move the salmon 130 miles upstream past the dams.
As dams became old and upkeep costs rose many were torn down. This allowed the river to flow freely again and the salmon population increased by 20%. It was discovered that the best way to increase the diminishing salmon population was to simply restore the rivers to their original state. In 2008, a judge ordered for the Columbia and Snake River dams to spill water, allowing the rivers to flow as they would naturally. This water flow allowed the salmon to swim along the currents, as they would have once done
...could never fully satisfy the river or the ecosystem again (White, 48). White proves again how although the white people seemed to have control over the salmon and their industry, their successes would cease eventually. The river had the final say in dictating the terms of nature and the environment.
The one feature common to the Hoover Dam, The Mississippi river and the three gorges dam is that they all tried to control nature’s swings, specifically in the form of flooding. Before the Hoover dam was built, the Colorado river “used to flood spectacularly…but after 1900 the Colorado provoked a vehement response” (Pg 177). The response was simple, but large. The U.S. built several large dams, including the Hoover dam, on the Colorado to decrease its flooding and increase power and irrigation. Unfortunately, just as human control of the Colorado’s flooding increased, its organisms and habitats were detrimentally influenced, and the water became more and more salinated.
In the past, because the glaciers disappeared slowly can make people have a low temperature, clean water during the summer, but at the same time the salmon begin and end their lives. With temperature getting warmer and our glaciers melting, every stage of salmon’s life cycle is getting hurt.
Blackfish is a 2013 documentary attempting to elevate public awareness regarding the orca that are being kept in maritime amusement parks, specifically SeaWorld, and the inherent danger of their captivity. The film is effective because it raises a set of important ethical questions for the viewer while presenting with a necessary fact-based style of documentation that does not evoke gratuitous scenes of abuse in order to inspire sympathy, unlike some of the other films that are intended to raise awareness about animal abuse.
As I read, “On A Rainy River”, I became fascinated that fishing, in a sense, assisted O’ Brien with making a difficult choice. According to Tim O’Brien, the owner of the Tip Top Lodge, Elroy Berdahl saved his life. Elroy Berdahl took O’Brien fishing on the Rainy River. Elroy hoped that taking O’Brien fishing would coerce O’Brien to make a decision. Tim O’Brien’s choices included: O’Brien could go to war, and he could have a chance to see his family again, or he could go to Canada, and he would, probably, never see his family again. Tim O’Brien cleared his mind, and he thought about his past, his life now, and his future while he was sitting on the boat that floated along the river. In the end, O’Brien decided to go to war. As I read about Tim O’ Brien pondering upon his life, I realized that Tim O’Brie...
Since the early 1800's, Native Americans fished the spring and fall salmon runs, the water's edge, and the shore of the Columbia River. Later, small cable cars built by fish buyers linked the shore to the islands. They used two types of dip nets: one was stationary, the other movable through the water. The dip nets attached to poles ranged from 15 to 25 feet in length. There were about 480 fishing stations around Celilo Falls. Fishers built wooden platforms out over the water catching salmon that weighed up to sixty pounds. The wood platforms were very wet and slippery so the men had to be really strong. The men tied themselves with ropes that they tied around their waists in the event that they fell in the river.
The San Joaquin River Project was a plan completed in 2009 made to recreate San Joaquin River, which was dried up after dams were built in 1942. The San Joaquin River restoration is to bring back water flows from the San Joaquin river to the Friant Dam, and to revive the salmon and other fish population. There are two articles debating whether they either agree or disagree with the project. I chose the article, “River Plan Too Fishy For My Taste Buds”. This article came from The Fresno Bee newspaper, which correspondingly means it came from Fresno. The type of people who live in Fresno are farmers, workers who work for other people, democrats, and people who care more about jobs rather than the environment. I agree with this article from The Fresno Bee because I believe Bill McEwen, the author of this article, is the better expert because of his credentials and achievements. I will be using the article “River Restoration Project Offers a Sprinkling of Hope” by Daniel Weintraub to back up my argument.
The Klamath Hydroelectric Project is owned by a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and consists of six hydroelectric dams and one non-hydroelectric dam along the Link River, a feeder stream to Lake Ewauna, the Klamath River’s headwaters (PacifiCorp Power Company 2017). In the early 19th century, dams were constructed without an evaluation of environmental or social impacts. The dams are currently being considered for removal because they have been found to violate the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which provides protection for the Klamath River stock of coho salmon.(Gosnell and Kelly
Dip netting for salmon in the Copper River is a lot of fun but is also a lot of work.� During the summer months salmon will leave their home in the ocean and travel upstream in the Copper River to spawn in its many tributaries.� Near the small town of Chitna the Copper River flows through a narrow canyon which greatly increases the speed of the river.� This makes it harder for the salmon to swim upstream.� However the canyon also creates back eddies near the shore in which the river will actually flow the opposite direction.� This is good and bad news for the salmon.� Good news because the back eddies are flowing the direction the salmon want to go which makes their trip a lot easier.� And bad news (from the salmons point of view of course), it makes the salmon easier to catch because the water is flowing the ideal direction for dip netters as shown in the pictures below.
The stream sits approximately 1,257 feet (383 meters) above sea level. Little Salmon Creek is a small fourth order trout stream located in Forest County, Pennsylvania that is part of the Tionesta Watershed and ultimately part of the Allegheny, Ohio, and Mississippi River watershseds. The headwaters of this creek is fed by mountain springs and is void of anthropogenic pollutants with the exception of some logging roads that litter the surrounding area. This watershed is located in the heart of the Allegheny National Forest and its mouth empties into the Tionesta creek just below the small town of Kelletville, PA. This stream will serve as a baseline for our study primarily because we are already familiar with its high biodiversity and abundance of EPT's living within all stretches of the watershed. It is a great creek to drink from if you ever get
The salmon population faces many threats and obstacles on their journey to the sea and humans try to help them along the way. The major goal in the salmon’s journey is to keep them alive to make it to the sea. This can be extremely hard because of their bad habits they acquired in the hatcheries. In the hatcheries the salmon would come to the surface of the water when it was time to eat. If a salmon comes to the surface of the water on their journey to the sea there is an increased change that they will become a bird’s food instead of them eating. Another problem salmon face is the dams. Before the dams were built, the salmon population could face the current and it would carry them to the sea. However, with the dam in place the salmon have
Our reels weren’t the only things being destroyed by the salt water. Our lures were as well. Their lustrous, metallic surfaces became dull and oxidized. They began a whole epidemic in our tackle boxes, spreading their gritty growths to even those lures that hadn’t come into contact with salt water. To save the small remainder of healthy lures, we were forced to adopt the tedious and time-consuming, foreign culture of bathing them in freshwater and keeping them in a clean, quarantined box.
After about two months of traveling through the open sea, the salmon will arrive at the coast. Now the salmon’s journey becomes increasingly riskier, as many hungry animals are waiting for the salmon to arrive. Many species, such as the bald eagle and salmon shark, will feed on the salmon as they pass. Eventually, the salmon will become stuck in extremely shallow water, and they will not be able to penetrate through. The salmon will need to wait it out until it rains, and the water level rises. Unfortunately, they are confronted by an immense problem, considering the salmons' bodies are accustomed to salt water, they will not nourish themselves will in fresh water. Consequently, they must rely on stored energy to get them to their birthplace and spawn. Throughout this journey, the salmon will encounter numerous obstacles along the way, such as shallow water, waterfalls, and hungry animals especially grizzly bears. As the fish's hormones start preparing to reproduce, they begin to alter some
Culvert design is extremely important because fish passage in rivers, creeks and other waterways are essential for reproduction and survival of many fish species. If poor designs of culverts are installed, upstream fish migration can be impeded. Many culverts have been designed especially for fish migration and passage. Culverts have many impacts to stream system even when fish passage is successful including; channel disruption during construction, hydraulic effects up and downstream, increased or decreased flow rates or many other impacts. When stream crossings are necessary three possibilities are considered, a bridge, a culvert, or an environmentally conscious culvert. When considering fish migration, a bridge is most effective although for financial reasons rarely a feasible option. An environmentally conscious culvert is the only other option, which at a reasonable price will successfully allow fish migration and will have minimum disturbance to the stream.
Although dams have such positive outcomes for us, there are more cons than pros. The blocking of a river creates almost a reservoir upstream. This can lead to ...