It’s a bit daunting to think of the enormous amount of knowledge I’ve amassed on the topic of salmon conservation in the past three years as a student at Lewis & Clark. I could tell you about every species of salmon that exists, even the ones that don’t exist anymore! I can tell you about the current state of salmon aquaculture around the world or about the real role of hatcheries in ‘wild’ stock conservation. I could rant on about salmon as a commodity – one of the only food items sold in American markets that actually costs the amount of money required to produce it. We could go on a stream survey, and I could pick out a redd from a seemingly homogenous gravel bed. I can even tell you what it’s like to catch, kill, fillet, and cook an 18-pound Chinook.
But what is the most daunting thing about all of this is that there’s so much more I don’t know, but I guess that’s also the fun part!
As I continue my final year, I aim to continue building on my already existing knowledge of salmon conservation. I intend to add to my collection of popular and scholarly articles, popular and scholarly books, videos, documentaries, empirical data sources, and field work experience. So let me get started with a new one right now:
Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend a screening of A River’s Last Chance at the Portland Eco-film festival. The basic premise of the documentary, produced by environmental documentary director Shane Anderson of Seattle, is the conservation story of the Eel River and one of the last remaining strongholds of wild salmon in California. Throughout the documentary, I was ferociously scribbling down notes, and I aim to do another post soon summarizing the contributions the film may make to my thesis.
Without further ado, here is a growing list of just those sources directly relevant to my thesis. This list does not include all the research I have done relating to salmon conservation but rather the ones I intend to cite in the final thesis itself.
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