Five mighty strange-looking salmon ended their
450-mile downstream migration at Washington’s Lower Granite Dam
July 25. In fact, they weren’t salmon at all but an unusual swim
team that started its expedition 25 days earlier at Idaho’s Redfish
Lake. Four men and one woman took turns in the water, following the
outward migration route of juvenile salmon through the currents of
Idaho’s Salmon and Snake rivers. “We set off on this trip to push
our limits and to bring attention to the salmon crisis,” said Jamie
James, leader of the Sockeye Survival Swim. “I think we’ve managed
to do both.” Free-flowing river currents carried the swimmers an
average of 20 miles per day but, just like the salmon, they
struggled to cross the 32 miles of slackwater behind the dam. En
route, the swimmers discussed salmon survival strategies with
people who supplied them with T-shirts, food and beer. The
swimmers’ finish line at Lower Granite Dam marks just the beginning
of an eight-dam obstacle course for Idaho’s salmon along the Snake
and Columbia rivers.
*Diane
Kelly
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Human smolts reach Washington.
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