Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

In the final months of the Trump administration, there were a flurry of environmental rollbacks that hearkened back to the Timber Wars, including changes that would make it easier to log old trees and a huge reduction in the area protected for the northern spotted owl. So we wanted to bring you an episode from another podcast, "How to Save a Planet," that helps explain environmental rollbacks like these in light of one of the big ideas we explored: how did environmental laws go from bipartisan agreements to a wedge in the culture wars. And while we looked at this idea as it related to the Endangered Species Act and forests, they explore it as it relates to climate change. The episode is called “Making Republicans Environmentalists Again.”
For more on this episode of "How to Save a Planet," hosted by the journalist Alex Blumberg and the scientist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, including a reading list, check out: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/gmhwdon/making-republicans-environmentalists

Federal officials took away a way of life that had sustained Pacific Northwest tribes for centuries. So some tribal members became outlaws. During the 1960s and beyond, Native activists fought back against state and federal restrictions on their fishing rights – a period known as the “fish wars”. They held “fish ins” and fought for their rights in court. Randy Settler's parents won some major battles in the fish wars, but their methods were controversial even within their tribe.

Salmon have been on the decline for more than 100 years. The federal government knows why. It knows who killed the salmon. And how. But for decades it’s been telling a tale of progress, and obscuring the ugliest truth.

We’re going to uncover it.

We hear the voices of tribal elders who remember Celilo Falls before The Dalles Dam silenced this sacred fishing spot. Many of the voices you hear in this episode were shared, with permission, by Confluence. Confluence is a nonprofit focused on the Columbia River system. The organization has collected oral histories from Native people, many of whom remember Celilo Falls before the dam.

Host Tony Schick introduces us to Randy Settler and his family. The Settlers, members of the Yakama Nation, have been deeply affected by the Northwest’s salmon policies for generations. They lost their home, their primary food source, their ancestral fishing grounds. Randy and his parents went to jail for exercising their fishing rights. And they won some important victories along the way. Now, he’s passing the fight on to younger people in the tribe.