Guevara, N. (n.d.). For 1st time in years, chinook salmon return to rehabbed Seattle creek to spawn. Retrieved from https://komonews.com/news/local/for-1st-time-in-years-chinook-salmon-return-to-rehabbed-seattle-creek-to-spawn

 

This article described the return of the chinook salmon seattle creek. THe chinook salmon is an endangered species of american salmon and is the largest breed of salmon. They are a critical food source to many marine and terrestrial organisms like orcas. While they spend their life in the open ocean they travel hundreds of mile inland upstream in rivers to spawn. They are threatened by pollution of these waterways as well as dams blocking their path up the rivers. This was the case for Seattle Creek, where Chinook have not spawned for decades, however, Seattle creek has been subject to a rehabilitation project and for the first time in years, a spawning pair returned to the creek this year.

 

This article while only describing one instance of successful environmental rehabilitation it is an inspiring story nonetheless. It shows how the effort to protect our endangered species can pay off.  However, just because a couple salmon have moved into the creek does not mean that all the effort is over. It is important to keep an attitude of continued urgency in conservation beyond the moment when results begin to show. In the case of Seattle creek, for example, seattle has passed laws to limit the consumption of chinook salmon and worked to accommodate their migration, however, it is important not to say “okay, we did that so now we can start to loosen regulations.”