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Article: The Salmon are Sovereign!
- Article from:
- Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
- September 22, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On March 9, the environmental group American Rivers challenged the US government to breach four dams on Washington's Snake River -- Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite -- to save the river's endangered salmon. "We are here to warn America that delay means extinction," the environmentalists stated. "These wild salmon are a national icon, but they could soon go the way of the buffalo."
In his dramatic endorsement of breaching the dams, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber stands alone in acknowledging that what anyone might think about the dams is ultimately irrelevant. The multi-billion dollar question is not "To breach or not to breach?" but ...