Farley Eaglespeaker (center) reels in a hoop net while fishing for salmon on the Columbia River, in Skamania County, Washington, on, June 23, 2024. An agreement signed last year by Northwest tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon aims to restore the basin. (Jordan Gale/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Imagine a not-so-distant future in which the Snake and Columbia River basins are again home to healthy and abundant populations of salmon and steelhead, and clean energy is also abundant, reliable and affordable.
This vision of a healthy and flourishing Northwest is worth fighting for – and closer than ever before to becoming reality.
The three of us come from different perspectives and places – we are a tribal leader, a sportfishing advocate and a clean energy champion – but together we share admiration for the courage and leadership shown by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Columbia Basin restoration. This week, Kotek signed an executive order directing the state’s natural resources agencies to do all they can to restore abundant salmon, steelhead and other native fisheries to the Northwest.