Columbia Riverkeeper is a non-governmental organization dedicated to “…restore and protect the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean”. They deal with issues pertaining to the health of the Columbia River system. They use methods such as grassroots community organizing, the law, and community outreach to help reach goals. These goals are diverse, but all of them relate to the health of the river and the communities that surround and utilize the river system.
Columbia Riverkeeper has multiple programs to accomplish their goals. They test the water in the Columbia River in key salmon habitats to make sure the water is healthy for the fish; they do this by sending out volunteers, proving that communities around the river care a lot about the health of the river and the wildlife in it. They also train volunteers to rehabilitate sections of the Columbia River via the Adopt-A-River program. Besides the volunteer work Columbia Riverkeeper's members do, they use laws to ensure the river is kept safe from illegal developments, and they also lobby the government to strengthen existing water laws to keep our river safe in the future.
One key project Columbia Riverkeeper is working on currently is the prevention of shipping sites being built in the Columbia River estuary. There are four sites that have already been proposed. The main purpose of these sites is to ship coal from the United States to China, which is extremely problematic for the entire river ecosystem because of the increased traffic, pollution, and construction on the sensitive estuary. Shipping sites will harm salmon because pollution and boat traffic will increase in the area where the river meets the ocean, which is a critical point in the reproduction cycle of salmon.
-Janet Pasko
http://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/
It is good that there are grassroots organizations such as the Columbia Riverkeeper who can add another voice to such an important debate. The idea of shipping sites in the Columbia River estuary sounds like a bad idea- it is such a delicate place in the river, with delicate pH levels and ratios of absorbed gases, and interrupting the natural balance could cause grave harm for salmon as well as other water organisms that depend on this unique environment.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested in reaching other locations on the river where these shipping sites could be placed. There must be another place that would pose a lesser risk to marine species.
-Christina Heinlen