Title: Salmon Singer

Gender: Female

Age: 45

Sun Sign: Virgo

Chinese Sign: Water Rabbit

Location: Richland, WA

Welcome to my Watershed!

What’s a Watershed, you say?

A Watershed is an area of land draining to a common outlet. In my case I’m in the Amon Creek tributary of the Yakima River tributary in the Columbia River Watershed.

An area about the size of France, the Columbia River Watershed (or Basin) is a complex tapestry of mountains, high plateaus, desert basins, river valleys, rolling uplands, and deep gorges woven together by the Columbia River and its tributaries.

http://www.wildsalmon.org/library/map2.cfm

Once upon a time, several Pacific salmon species could migrate all the way inland to Wyoming and Montana.

But not today. Today they are stopped by man’s monumental need for power and control of nature. Grand Coulee, and Hell’s Canyon on the Snake river ended fish access to their home streams. Eliminating, in one stroke, thousands of miles of salmon spawning areas. Many more headwaters streams were cut off by irrigation and small hydro projects. People think of hydro-power as sustainable, but it’s detrimental in its own right.

Why does it matter?

It matters to me because I think the fish are beautiful. Because they are such a brilliant example of evolution and metamorphosis. Fresh water to salt water and back again. For millions of years!

It matters to me because I believe any further extinctions will mean the cultural, if not physical, genocide of many NW Indians.

It matters to me because their success is linked to our success. Can we limit our access to the land to improve theirs? Can we conserve enough energy to remove some hydro dams and open up spawning areas? Can we keep the water clean enough to allow fish to thrive?

Watershed is a word often used to mean a moment of change. Of newfound direction.

I hope you will join Zaadz, and continue to spread love and positivity to improve and protect whatever’s important to you! Be it fish, wildlife, habitat, livable communities, spirituality, or humankind!

Visit me as I journey into what will be my watershed in the future.

Hasta!

Ginger

Member Since: Tuesday, February 14 2006

Last Visit: 458 days ago.

Profile Viewed: 1651 times (last viewed less than a minute ago)