Over $9 billion in inflation-adjusted tax dollars spent on conservation over four decades has not resulted in a notable increase in wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River Basin, reveals a study from Oregon State University. The research, led by William Jaeger from the OSU Col
Despite over $9 billion spent on conservation efforts in the Columbia River Basin over four decades, research from Oregon State University reveals no improvement in wild salmon and steelhead stocks. While hatchery-reared salmon numbers have risen, the abundance of wild, naturally spawning fish has not seen a net increase, with issues from hydropower, overharvesting, and other human activities compounding the problem.
The cost and scale of restoration efforts grew considerably in the 1990s, Jaeger said, following the listing of 12 Columbia River runs of salmon and steelhead as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Thus, Jaeger notes, a key question has persisted, and its answer is critical for sound policy and legal decisions: Is there any evidence of an overall boost in wild fish abundance that can be linked to the totality of the recovery efforts?
He said the Northwest Power and Conservation Council set a goal of increasing total salmon and steelhead abundance in the basin to 5 million fish by 2025, but annual adult returns at Bonneville Dam averaged less than 1.5 million in the 2010s.
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