PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new report from American Rivers states the Columbia River is the second-most endangered river in the United States.
That does not surprise the Columbia Riverkeeper’s Dan Serres. “The situation is serious,” he said. “From someone who fishes in the Columbia River, who relies for their livelihood on protein on fish that come up the Columbia River and for the entire region we depend on the Columbia River as a lifeblood, not just for our economy but for our culture.”
The report says the Columbia River is in danger due to antiquated dams that block fish passage and leave the river too hot for our salmon population to potentially survive long term.
The Rogue River is also on the list because of “strip mining, road construction, and metal processing.”
The report comes at a critical time as negotiations are underway with Canada for a renewed Columbia River treaty – a treaty some in the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission want to see improved.
“Stepping away from a treaty that’s focused just on hydro-power and flood risk management to one that integrated ecosystem function,” said the commission’s James Heffernan.
The treaty and the river can both be improved with modernization techniques, experts said. But there is much work to do.
“We have to protect what we have and restore the function of what has been lost,” Serres said.