Oregon River Restoration (Spencer Mottley)

 

    An intreging article came to my attention as I was scrolling on New York Times, that relates to our 

 class discussion on rivers. The article was titled "A River Restoration in Oregon Gets Fast Results:

The Salmon Swam Right Back" by Rebecca Dzombak. This article dissucses how salmon have returened

to their historic breeding grounds in the upper Klamath River after a series of dams were removed 

that have blocked the salmon from reaching this part of the river for more than one hundred 

years. Largely at the demands of native american tribes, anglers and conservation groups. 

 Dispite these dams being in place for so long the article stated that salmon returned to 

this area as soon as a few days after the final dam was taken down. 


    After completeing this reading I was left with a few questions with the first being, "Do those that use a 

resource (like salmon) have an obligation to protect and look out for that resource?" and secondly "Do the 

ecological, cultural and economic benifts that come with dam removals outweigh the loss of a clean, 

low carbon energy source?" My response to the first question is yes, I belive if you take from nature you 

have a responsibility to give back to it to the best of your ability, and look out for it, one for it's sake 

(Ultamite value) but also so future generations have the privilage of enjoying natures bounty and the 

outdoors in general, like many anglers and native americans do in the present day (Instrmental value). 

My response to the second question is also yes because there are better ways to attain clean energy that

don't degrade entire ecosystems (like solar, or wind energy) and destory entire fisheries that often have

vital importance to local economies and cultures. Some additional thoughts I have regarding this reading

include the importance of the salmon spawn in many cold water rivers, these spawning events not only

boost the salmon population but also provide an important food source to many animals that often live

alongside these rivers like egales, bears, wolves and otters. Another thought I had after reading this article

is the other ecological benefits that come with dam removal other than revived fish stocks, these other

benifits include an increase in sediement deposition at the mouths of rivers (which helps fight erosion and

to a degree can mingate the effects of sea level rise), and an increase in preodic floods (which allows

nuternt rich sediment to pentrate the floodplains that surround rivers). Moreover behind ecology I think it

is also worth noteing that restoreing these rivers also provides a sort of restoration or revival of the

identities of indigenous peoples and to a lesser extent also that of other types of fishermen (recreational,

commercial) who rely on healthy fish stocks to carry on tarditions surrounding the activity of fishing.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kip Redick Example of a Student's Choosing

  This is an example of a topic of the student's choosing.   During the summer of 2022, I attended an environmental encounters trip to Iceland with Dr. Kip Redick, Dr. Joe Balay, and 14 other students. It was a two week trip, but those short two weeks completely changed my life. I learned about more things than I thought was possible in 14 days, and I've never been more interested in learning before. It completely opened my eyes to a whole new perspective, on how the world should live, and what the environment should look like. Everyone was so kind, and they are the most environmental conservative countries.  While there, we did many different activities, including hiking on a glacier. It was so fun, but exhausting and kind of sad at the same time. It was obvious to see how much the glacier have had melted in the past years due to global warming, as there was a large glacial lake at the bottom with melted ice, and the glacier was all rock and sediment before w...
Read more

Kip Redick Student's Free Choice Example

  Here is an example which would be a free choice entry.    Since last semester, I have been on e-board for the Green Team at CNU. I am the sustainability and research chair and my role is to make campus more green and sustainability which is challenging because CNU tends to be stubborn and not want to change. Although I have been struggling to do my job and change things, I have gotten so much insight from the other Green Team members because we come from different customs and view points. We have bonded over our love for the environment and our need to change. We have our own rituals were we try to connect with nature through meditation, yoga, and reciting poems and sharing ideas. We have a big/little system called Oaks and Acorns in order for new members to know how the group works and become close to each other. Green Team is not dominated by one class, one religion, or one race. That is why I love this organization so much. We are all accepted and brought...
Read more

Kip Redick Example of an Outside Reading Post

 Recently I decided to give the renowned masterpiece by Jon Krakauer known as Into the Wild  another read. Needless to say I was just as heartbroken as the first time I read this novel/watched the 2007 film. I felt the need to discuss the work here simply because I feel it relates to a lot of discussions we have been having in class. I mean think about it, a young man sets out across the country to explore creation as it was intended to be experienced. As the story progresses, I remember being left with a sense of wonder, even thinking things along the lines of "I wonder would what happen if I just decided to do this one day?" I feel it's common knowledge how this story ends by now, with the main protagonist passing away alone in the wilderness, no one around for miles due to accidentally ingesting a poisonous plant. Although I have previously discussed how nature is God's most pure creation and should be treated as such, I feel I need to address a differ...
Read more