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Where Fish Built a Forest The landscape of the Pacific Northwest has been molded by great volcanoes like Rainier, Baker,and St. Helens. Yet an equally vital role has been played by the strong, silvery salmon, which has been bringing nutrients from the ocean to the forests here ever since the vegetation was stripped away by glaciers some 10,000 years ago. "[Salmon] were not the only means by which nature reclaimed the wasteland of gravel, boulders and clay, but they were among the most important," says author Bruce Brown. "Running in such numbers that many rivers were known for the marvel of their rotting, the salmon helped recreate the soil which supports the rococo excesses of the modern Olympic Peninsula rain forest." Without salmon, the Northwest's forests and streams would never have been so richly endowed with flora and fauna. Without healthy forests and streams, though, the fish cannot survive. Drastic alterations of Northwest landscapes have wiped out 106 populations of salmonids and put 214 more at risk. These activities have also caused crises in the logging and fishing industries--and fundamentally changed the region's character. Few people gazing at the Snake River in Wyoming realize it was once part of a seamless ecosystem that extended from the Continental divide in the Northern Rockies a thousand miles to the Pacific Ocean. The main culprits are sprawling cities, hydroelectric dams like Grand Coulee (which clog the Columbia and its tributaries), and rapacious logging. Ninety percent of the original coastal forest is gone. Moving east of the Cascade Crest, one finds drier inland woodlands in which logging and fire suppression have promoted disease and decline. Only the rugged forests of the Northern Rockies are still truly wild, but they won't remain so for long without stronger protections. The Sierra Club hopes to ensure the future of the Rockies' wildlands by placing them in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Elsewhere in the regions, the Club is working to establish a new form of permanent protection for all remaining ancient forests -- and for other undisturbed habitat. For salmon's sake, the Club is calling for restoration and protection of watersheds and more natural river flows from dams. In addition, the Club seeks "transition assistance" to help logging towns build healthy economies that are not based on cutting old-growth forests. "Trees, rivers, and salmon created a complex tapestry here -- and we cut the threads, "says Julia Reitan of the Sierra Club's Northwest office. "But we still have the opportunity to preserve the pattern--and to stitch some of the torn places back together." More Information
Contact:
The Cascade Chapter of the Sierra
Club Photo courtesy Philip Greenspun. Up to Top |
