What great news for southern residents that President Obama clarifies in his 2011 State of the Union Address (at 43:59) that he understands that there is a deep flaw in how salmon are managed in the United States:
The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they’re in salt water… I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked!
Can we do big things for Pacific salmon? Let’s hope Obama’s realization manifests as a concerted effort in the next two years by his administration to manage salmon of the Columbia, Snake, Sacramento, and other western rivers in an innovative manner that benefits both fish and killer whales. If we can’t do it with Jane Lubchenko (a marine biologist) heading NOAA and Gary Locke as Secretary of Commerce, then it’s unlikely we’ll pull it off in the first quarter of the 21st century. How can we work together to get more Chinook to the southern residents?