~~* The Singing Falls Stream Restoration Project *~~
~~*Factors Responsible for the decline in Salmon abundance and distribution in the Pacific Northwest*~~
~~*The numbers after each category relate to the list at the bottom of the page.*~~
~~*MAJOR FACTORS*~~
Agriculture: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 18, 21, 22
Fishing: 16, 19
Dams: 9, 11, 18
Forestry: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 21, 22
Drought: 9, 10
Urbanization: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 21, 22
~~*POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT FACTORS **~~
Gravel Harvest: 6
Irrigation: 9, 12
Bycatch Mortality: 16, 19 (salmon killed during fishing for other species)
Hatchery Fish Interference: 19, 20
Poor Ocean Conditions: 13, 14, 15, 16
Illegal Fishing: 16, 19
~~*MINOR FACTORS*~~
Bird Predation: 17
Marine Mammal Predation: 16, 17
~~*Components Of The Factors Causing Salmon Decline*~~
1. Loss of Streamside Vegetation and Functions
2. Pesticide Exposure
3. Industrial Pollutants Exposure
4. Increased Amount Of Sediment Entering Streams
5. Stream Straightening and Channelizing
6. Habitat Destruction
7. Decreased Amount Of Large Logs In Streams And Loss of Deep Pools and Channel Form
8. Filling of The Side Channels of Streams
9. Reduced Fresh Water Flow In Rivers and Streams
10. Exposure to Abnormal Temperatures
11. Habitat Area Loss
12. Lack of Screening of Water Diversion Canals to Keep Fish Out
13. Reduced Upwelling
14. Altered Ocean Currents and Flow
15. Decreased Food Abundance
16. Reduced Numbers of Adults Reaching Their Spawning Grounds
17. Reduced Numbers of Young Fish Making It To The Sea
18. Barriers Preventing Salmon From Migrating Upstream or Downstream
19. Loss of Genetic Integrity and Diversity
20. Competition Between Hatchery and Wild Fish
21. Forest Fragmentation
22. Estuary Degradation
* Insufficient data exists for an appropriate assessment of magnitude.
Table based on studies of rivers in Western Oregon and Northern California. Adapted with permission by Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission from Status and Future of Salmon of Western Oregon and Northern California: Overview of Findings and Options by Botkin, Cummins, Dunne, Regier, Simpson, Sobel, and Talbot. For a copy send $17 to The Center for the Study of the Environment, P.O. Box 6945, Santa Barbara, CA 93160.
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Fishing near the estuary