A Resolution for the New Year: Salmon will be reintroduced in 2022.

It's been more than two decades since we began the campaign to conserve the Columbia River Basin's tremendous salmon runs. We are still a long way from gaining ground and achieving our recovery objectives.

Because to the harmful effects of the lower Snake River dams, salmon runs are on the verge of extinction. And the situation is worsening as a result of climate change. It doesn't have to be this way, and the National Wildlife Federation has been leading the effort to ensure that we don't lose this iconic fish forever since the early 2000s, in collaboration with other organisations, the state of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

We must commit to urgent and significant action by 2022.

Salmon will be reintroduced in 2022.

CODE RED: The situation is critical.

The Nez Perce raised the alarm last spring. Wild spring Chinook salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia and Snake River Basins are approaching a critical threshold, according to the latest findings in the Nez Perce Tribe's fish research. In the next four years, about 80% of spring and summer chinook salmon in the Snake River Basin might be extinct.

The dams' detrimental effects are gaining traction. Salmon runs are continuing to dwindle. Climate change is exacerbating the problem. Salmon runs are being decimated by wildfires, strong heat waves, and drought. Time is running out for the salmon. This means that unless we act quickly, we will run out of time to save them.

Extinction is a fact of life — and it will continue to exist indefinitely.

Salmon in the Columbia River are on the verge of extinction. Salmon are more than just a fish; they are a keystone species at the centre of a complex, but delicate ecological web.

Southern Resident orcas, which are also on the verge of extinction, may starve if salmon isn't available. If we wish to conserve orcas, we must also save the salmon that they eat in order for them to survive. We lose a tremendous and valuable amount of Northwest wildlife without orcas or salmon, and we lose a massive and valuable key to Northwest identity as a result.

Justice is a non-negotiable principle.

Our country is going through a period of severe reckoning as a result of historical injustice. One of the most significant actions we can take to start keeping our commitments to Tribes on salmon is to remove the lower Snake River dams.

The problem is straightforward. Failure to act is a breach of treaty rights, and it's even worse. It's a threat to the livelihoods of Tribal and Indigenous peoples who have relied on their homelands' fish for millennia.

Traditional fishing locations were destroyed, and salmon populations were decimated, which Indigenous tribes in the Northwest had relied on for millennia. The construction and operation of these dams infringe on Northwest Tribes' treaty fishing rights.

The solution is straightforward: America must follow its promises. We must join forces with the tribes to demolish the dams.

Let's work together to make the future a better place for wildlife.

We can save the spectacular salmon runs of the Columbia River watershed from extinction, benefiting the animals and communities that rely on them.

Rethinking renewable energy is a crucial first step. We have the solutions to create a fully clean energy mix that is compatible with salmon. We can replace the benefits that the dams give — and strengthen the Northwest — with funds from Congress. Farmers that rely on dams for irrigation and barging can bring their products to market with irrigation and transportation modifications.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

The year 2021 was a watershed moment for these endangered fish, as well as the ecology, tribal groups, and businesses that rely on them. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) suggested a creative framework in early 2021 that would uphold our promises to Tribes, stimulate the agricultural sector, provide lower-cost clean energy, create good-paying employment – and help the Columbia River Basin recover salmon runs.

Rep. Simpson's ambitious idea has been championed by the National Wildlife Federation, which has invested in developing the political momentum needed to take it through. We're making progress, and we now have a concrete commitment from leaders in three states: Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, for the first time. They come from both parties, and they join a majority of Republican and Democrat citizens in Washington (where the dams are) who want the lower Snake dams removed.

Most importantly, the Obama administration stated its commitment to finding a solution to the "salmon and dams" problem in the Columbia River Basin. With bipartisan, regional, and executive branch commitment, this is an exciting period with the opportunity for meaningful solutions.

Let's make a promise to ourselves — and keep it!

Salmon are in danger. This indicates that we are in serious trouble. Extinction's ally is inaction.

Our elected officials have promised that extinction will not occur under their watch. It's up to us to make sure they follow through on their commitments. Salmon will be reintroduced in 2022.