Tulalip gathering signals progress for salmon's future

By Kody Osbourne / For The Herald

Often, history unfolds before our eyes before we can fully grasp the moment. Last week may have been that point in time, when 16 Northwest Tribes — across the Northwest states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington — gathered at the Tulalip Resort to unify, elevate and celebrate the growing momentum to redress a foundational injustice.

Over decades, the lower Snake River dams have robbed the Northwest Tribes and the region of our storied salmon and steelhead runs, leaving devastating impacts to the ecosystem and communities that depend on them.

I was honored to attend the tribal summit, Rise Up in Unity, the fifth in a series. It demonstrated beyond a doubt: The time for change has come.

The gathering landed on the heels of a new phase in the long-running litigation to restore the lower Snake River. After decades of leadership by the Nez Perce, Yakama and other Northwest Tribes, we have, at long last, a package of actions and commitments, subject to approval, that could form the basis for a multi-year stay of litigation. It is this litigation that has helped keep extinction of salmon and steelhead at bay in the short term. It has also helped bring parties to the table to work on a comprehensive, long-term solution to restore these native fish to a healthy and harvestable abundance while modernizing the Pacific Northwest’s transportation, energy and agricultural infrastructure.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-tulalip-gathering-signals-progress-for-salmons-future/