Salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest are crashing, and the critically endangered orcas that feed on them are tragically close to extinction. And Columbia Basin Native people — whose health, wealth, and culture are intimately connected to salmon — are also suffering.

For Southern Resident orcas, the mouth of the Columbia River between the Oregon and Washington coasts remains the favorite place to hunt for their preferred food: chinook salmon.

But the once abundant salmon aren’t there. Dams on the basin’s rivers have had devastating consequences for salmon.

The best hope to save orcas and honor tribal treaty rights is to restore the Columbia River’s largest tributary, the Snake River, by removing the earthen portions of the four lower Snake River dams — and replace them with clean energy from the region’s abundant wind and solar resources.

You can help: Submit an official public comment telling the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to honor treaty rights and save salmon — and orcas. Remove the lower Snake River dams and replace them with carbon-free alternatives.

Photo: Mike Charest via Flickr