Migrations are common among many species, but the journey that the salmon make is one of the most amazing. Salmon hatch from eggs laid in the gravel of clear, cold mountain streams. After hatching, the young salmon ride swift river currents downstream to the ocean. Their bodies undergo amazing physiological changes as they transition from living in freshwater to saltwater.
Removing four dams on the lower Snake River would provide salmon and
steelhead access to more than 5,000 miles of pristine habitat. Photo: Alison
Meyer Photography
It’s hard to put into words what wild salmon mean to the Pacific
Northwest. They are the heartbeat of the region’s rivers, and the annual
return of salmon from the Pacific Ocean helps sustain a web of life in the
Columbia River Basin that includes more than 130 species, from eagles to
black bears to orcas. These incredible fish have been a cornerstone of
Indigenous cultures for thousands of years.
“Our story, and that of the salmon, is one of perseverance and resilience
and thriving,” said Dr. Sammy Matsaw, a Shoshone-Bannock tribal member,
veteran and co-founder of the nonprofit River Newe. “We’re still here and
we’re still strong. This is about who we are and who we want to be.”
Migrations are common among many species, but the journey that the salmon
make is one of the most amazing. Salmon hatch from eggs laid in the gravel
of clear, cold mountain streams. After hatching, the young salmon ride swift
river currents downstream to the ocean. Their bodies undergo amazing
physiological changes as they transition from living in freshwater to
saltwater. And then they eventually go back to freshwater: After a couple of
years in the ocean, the adult salmon find their way back to the same
spawning beds in the same rivers where they were born.
Idaho salmon make one of the world’s most epic migrations, swimming 900
miles and climbing over a mile in elevation from the Pacific Ocean up the
Columbia and Snake Rivers to mountain streams where they spawn and die,
beginning the circle of life again.
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