November 08, 2004

11/8 - Shifting Baselines in Salmonland: An excellent essay on the politics of salmon recovery

We used it as the prime example of shifting baselines in our slide show. The story for salmon and the Columbia River is complex, but here's a really good essay in the Denver Post that clarifies it a bit. And check out this "shifting baseline" inference:

The 2004 Salmon Recovery Plan simply declares that the dams pose "no
jeopardy" to salmon, as if they have been natural features of the river
environment since the last Ice Age. Conversely, native fishing on these
rivers is now listed as an "impact."

salmon.jpg
The fate of Columbia River salmon: swimming upstream.

Posted by Randy Olson at November 8, 2004 05:39 AM
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