I am the co-leader of a group called the Youth Salmon Protectors, a non profit coalition of young people working to save this anadromous fish. Recently, I wrote this article about the encompassing mission of the YSP, and the salmon issue. Swim on.

One Red Fish

Redfish Lake. An alpine lake in Idaho named due to its teeming red sockeye salmon population. Thousands of salmon traveled over 900 miles to return to these spawning grounds nestled between the Sawtooth mountains. Farmers used to have trouble sleeping as they lay listening to the splashing. In 1992, only one salmon returned. Idaho people called him “Lonesome Larry”. Nowadays, the lake is crystal blue, and devoid of any iconic sockeye. This endangerment has been enough to rally tribes across the US, push congressmen to draft legislation, and educate Northwest conservation groups. And for an Idaho youth coalition, it has inspired them to restore the salmon.

Due to climate change, pollution, ocean acidification, and numerous other factors, salmon populations are dissipating rapidly around the world. As of 2020, a report from the US Fish and Game services revealed salmon populations are down 60% since they began tracking salmon abundance in 1984. And the most detrimental human activity is river damming. Salmon desperately try to swim back to their spawning grounds, but four dams located on the Lower Snake River in Washington, prevent them from doing so. As the salmon swim upstream they are abruptly halted. In vain, many salmon create a sickening sound as they slap against the dam’s walls. The salmon need our help一 and a team of youth has stepped up to do just that.

The Youth Salmon Protectors (YSP) is a coalition created to save these salmon by advocating for Congressman Simpson’s Columbia Basin Initiative. Aided by Idaho Conservation League, the YSP has raised thousands of dollars for awareness campaigns, fishery revivals, and youth educational trips. In the end, the YSP’s mission will only be complete when the salmon population is restored to their historical abundance.

The YSP educates on the importance of salmon. Salmon are keystone species, meaning over 137 animals are interdependent on the salmon’s journey from mountain streams to the Pacific Ocean. The salmon’s make up consists of nutritious, biological material that other stream animals need. Martin Lee Mueller, PHD, a naturalist and philosopher, concluded, “Salmon account for more than 90 percent of the nitrogen of Alaskan brown bears.” And, when the salmon’s journey ends, the benefits continue. Ned Rozell, a scientist for the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, coined the term “salmon tea”, meaning river water saturated with decaying salmon carcasses, and eggs left from the most recent spawning. These provide nourishment for any animal, root system, or fungi that comes into contact. 

Another devastating story like Lonesome Larry is about a malnourished Orca mother carrying her dead calf over 1,000 miles. The orca calf starved to death due to the depletion of salmon. According to the Whale Museum Conservation group, over 80% of the Orcas’ diet is salmon. Moved by this mother Orca, the YSP fundraised for two months to commission a local artist to create a t-shirt design. The YSP asked the artist to include the idea of restoration in her art depiction, flourishing salmon for whale populations, and an image of the Snake River free from dams. The YSP raised $500 from the sale of these shirts and used the proceeds to fund a youth volunteer trip.

The youth volunteer trip left Boise on July 14th, 2021 with 20 engaged youth and 8 adults. The group traveled seven hours up North into Clarkston, Washington, camping in Chief Timothy State Park, sharing space with fifteen indigenous youth from tribes across the Northwest. The next day, the coalition headed to the Red Road to DC stop at Chief Timothy. There were conservation organizations such as Sierra Club, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, and the Southern Resident Orca Protectors. A group of carvers, from the House of Tears, arrived with a 25-foot totem pole, depicting orcas, salmon, brown bears, humans: all species dependent on satisfactory salmon health. This totem pole is meant to encourage Congress and the White House to take action to protect important native sites, especially the free-flowing Snake River. 

The YSP’s work has just begun. To spread the word about salmon endangerment and why society needs to protect them, the group has visited elementary schools, high schools, and local events; inspired thousands of youth to write postcards and letters to editors; walked to our local Senator’s office in downtown Boise and dropped off a stack of the written postcards; organized a meet and greet with Congressman Mike Simpson (Our Idaho Congressman legislating for the removal of the four Lower Snake River dams) at Boise High School; and, hosted a river parade down the Boise River with over 40 floats, making news in the Idaho Statesman and regional press. All actions to show how necessary the restoration of the salmon is for our world’s health. 

Later this August, the YSP will meet with Idaho Senator Crapo to emphasize the importance of youth voices in ecological matters. 

In September, the YSP is organizing a Youth Salmon & Orca Summit, inviting the Northwest Congressional delegation and the Biden Administration to further promote their mission. 

By the end of December, the YSP hopes to secure funding for dam breaching. Until then, the group will continue to escalate pressure on elected officials.

What type of people want to save the salmon? Coho salmon may already be extinct on the Central California Coast; Sockeye salmon are unable to return home in the Snake River; Scottish salmon are down 70% over the last 25 years; Wild Scandinavian salmon suffer as fisheries reduce their resources; and, Masu salmon, from the Kamchatka Peninsula and near Korea, is the least abundant anadromous fish in the world. The humble salmon affects almost all people, ecological systems, and keystone species worldwide. The endangerment of this species will hurt Earth’s biosphere in incomprehensible ways.

So, again, what type of people want to save the salmon? The Youth Salmon Protectors (YSP) of Idaho will not cease their mission until all salmon species are removed from the endangered list. We once again want our alpine lake to be red with sockeye salmon.