with Miles Johnson
Date & Time: Jan. 17th, 2024 at 7 pm
Location: Columbia Center for the Arts, 215 Cascade Ave, Hood River, OR
Lecture Description:
In 2015, roughly 250,000 sockeye salmon died in the Columbia and Snake rivers because water temperatures were too hot. Sockeye also sought refuge, and died, in the Little White Salmon River and nearby tributaries in the Gorge. Mass die-offs of endangered Snake River sockeye also occurred in 2021 and 2023. While many variables affect Northwest salmon populations, dams and climate change are heating the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers to levels that salmon cannot tolerate. Further upstream, there is widespread consensus that most wild Snake River salmon and steelhead are on a trajectory to extinction. These realities, and a renewed focus on the rights of Tribal Nations, have prompted unprecedented calls from all sides to remove the Lower Snake River Dams. Join Miles Johnson as he shares why he believes “the movement to un-dam the Lower Snake River is as close to success as it has been for decades.”
Speaker Bio:
Miles Johnson is the Legal Director for Columbia Riverkeeper. He works to reduce water pollution and restore salmon by enforcing the Clean Water Act and providing legal counsel for Columbia Riverkeeper’s campaigns. Prior to law school, Miles worked as a fisheries researcher in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. As an enthusiastic fish-eater, Miles is personally invested in ensuring that we can all eat fish caught in the Columbia without endangering the health of our families.
Links:
https://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/take-action/snake-river
https://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/our-work/saving-salmon/snake-river-dams
https://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaRiverkeeper/