Anyone interested in understanding the ongoing salmon
debacle should read The Northwest Salmon Crisis: A Documentary
History. Editors Joseph Cone and Sandy Ridlington have compiled
over 80 documents from the last 140 years to lead us through the
salmon’s decline. They remind us that this tragedy occurred even
though red flags were waving every step of the way. The documents
are placed in their biological, ecological, economic and legal
context by the commentaries of 11 contributors. They tell us, as
anthropologist Courtland Smith writes, that our knowledge has never
been adequate for crafting a scientific solution. “Nor have people
come to sufficient consensus to agree on a political solution.”
The Northwest Salmon Crisis is $29.95 from
Oregon State University Press, 101 Waldo Hall, Corvallis, OR
97331-6407 (541/737-3166.)
– John
Rosapepe
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline How we did them in.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
