As the Center for Biological Diversity has warned us, historical pressures combined with new threats from climate change have pushed more than a dozen salmon species close to extinction.
Joe Biden is doing something about it!
First, in September 2023 he signed a historic agreement with tribal nations to reintroduce salmon into blocked areas in the Upper Basin of the Columbia River:
Biden signed a Presidential Memorandum to prioritize the restoration of healthy and abundant wild salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations to the Columbia River Basin.
[These fish] are essential to the culture, economy, religion, and way of life of Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples. Actions since 1855, including the Federal Government’s construction and operation of dams, private dam building, population growth, and overfishing, have changed the ecosystem and severely depleted wild fish populations in the region, substantially harming the Tribes’ ability to exercise their rights reserved under treaty to hunt and fish in all usual and accustomed places. Since the dams were constructed, 13 fish species have been listed as threatened or endangered.
The memorandum highlighted tens of millions of dollars that are going to projects vital to native
fish recovery in the Columbia River Basin. They include work expanding tribally led fish hatcheries;
removing the disused Enloe Dam and taking out culverts to help salmon migrate more freely; and reducing toxins in fish and water throughout the Basin.
In December of 2023, Joe Biden took further action → Biden-Harris Administration Announces 10-Year Partnership with Tribes and States to Restore Wild Salmon:
The Biden-Harris Administration today announced a historic agreement to work in partnership with Tribes and States from the Pacific Northwest to restore wild salmon populations, expand Tribally sponsored clean energy production, and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River System for agriculture, energy, recreation, and transportation.
Today’s agreement, when combined with other funding that the Administration is anticipated to deliver to the region, will bring more than $1 billion in new Federal investments to wild fish restoration in the Columbia River Basin over the next decade and facilitate the build-out of at least one to three gigawatts of Tribally sponsored clean energy production. . . . [These projects,] if Congress authorizes breach of the Lower Snake River Dams, could help to replace the power generated by those dams.
This is just another example of how Biden has combined his core goals in all of his legislation — building the economy from the bottom and middle out, boosting marginalized groups, protecting the environment, and planning for the future.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden did more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
What can you do to help?
Your donation will come bundled with others from our Good News community and will show Biden that there are many of us who support him and combine hard work with optimism in our battles for a better America!
Want to do something else?
Rec and comment on these posts to keep them alive at DKos and share them with others who might not realize how great a president Joe Biden has been.
Looking for something else? Here are some other ideas:
This is an entry in my ongoing series Boosting Biden.
Check the comments for more information on how to find other entries and subscribe.