The Pacific Salmon Restoration Program

The Problem

Pacific Coast Salmon are in a state of ecological crisis.

In the United States, the vast majority of the wild salmon populations that once widely inhabited California and the Pacific Northwest are now at risk of extinction. Many other once abundant runs are already extinct. The reason? Decades of over-logging of old growth forests, over-grazing, over-appropriation of water, water pollution and the deliberate blockage of fish migration routes have resulted in the widespread destruction and blockage of critical spawning and rearing habitat.

The Solution

To date, IFR, via its Pacific Salmon Restoration Program, has made significant progress in its efforts to protect and restore native salmon habitat. The salmon program has many components that, in combination, provide a complete strategic vision for an effective, long-term conservation campaign. Some of our successes to date include:

Major Industrial Forestry Reforms
In the past, IFR successfully advocated for better watershed protections affecting millions of acres of federal and private timberlands throughout the Northwest United States. However, current logging practices will not prevent salmon extinction. IFR and its partner organizations recognize that long term success hinges on continued reform, including the full implementation of the Aquatic Conservation Strategy outlined in the Northwest Forest Plan.

Safer Agricultural Practices
IFR helped implement comprehensive regulations that govern the use of pesticides in and near salmon streams, control erosion, and improve water temperature standards as per the Clean Water Act. IFR also supports watershed councils who work with farmers and ranchers to control bank erosion and remove livestock from rivers.

Fish Passage and River Flows for Fish
For over a decade, IFR has worked with salmon and steelhead restoration agencies to help identify and remove manmade barriers that block migratory routes to spawning habitat. In that time, IFR lobbied for water use reform bills calling for fewer agricultural diversions and the installation of fish screens on irrigation ditches.

Selective Dam Decommissioning and Removal
IFR’s dam decommissioning effort helped secure the removal of several small dams on lower Butte Creek, unblocking a major spawning tributary for spring-run Chinook. IFR also participated in an initiative to reestablish cold-water spawning and rearing habitat for endangered winter-run Chinook salmon on Battle Creek by removing five hydro dams from the waterway.

Mentoring programs
Each year, IFR also acts as a mentor for two Americorps Watershed Stewards Program volunteers. The Americorps personnel are assigned to the IFR office to learn fishery/conservation policy, while working extensively with a number of different projects. In addition, the Americorps staff members work with students in the Bay Area, providing education about fisheries and fish conservation.

KRIS
IFR successfully generated a resource information system that allows operators to retrieve trend information both spatially and over time, called the Klamath Resource Information System (KRIS). Designed to capture relevant data about a watershed’s fish populations and water quality, KRIS combines maps, data tables, charts, photographs and bibliographic materials into an easy-to-use, PC-based computer program that enables information to be shared quickly and easily among fisheries, government agencies, and private citizens.

The Future of Salmon Restoration

Without doubt, IFR, with the support of its affiliates and allies, has accomplished a great deal in a very short time frame. However, for IFR to realize its long-term goals for protecting and restoring Pacific salmon habitat, it must parlay these initial successes into a sustainable plan for effecting necessary reforms in government policy at both the state and federal level. IFR’s Pacific Salmon Restoration Program includes several ongoing initiatives, including:

• Building a strong partnership between commercial fishermen and environmentalists to better protect fish and wildlife

• Reforming forestry regulations that govern public and private forest and rangelands

• Increasing water appropriations and in-stream flow rights for fish and wildlife

• Correcting problematic fish passage and fish screen issues

• Protecting aquatic resources throughout federal power and water projects

• Developing wild fish conservation policies

• Assessing the true economic and social costs of environmental damage to salmon

• • Encouraging voluntary, community-based grassroots salmon restoration efforts

If you would like to learn more about how you can support IFR and the Pacific Salmon Restoration Program, please click here to visit Support IFR, or TAKE ACTION!.