It’s been 50 years since Celilo Falls in Oregon was buried by the Dalles Dam to create 800 megawatts of power, but the memory of the great salmon runs lost live on through the tribes who migrated again this year to the spot to mourn the day. Orion Grassroots Network member group Save Our Wild Salmon opined eloquently in the Oregonian this week about the choices our society made for green power.
It reminded me that there is a place near my home called Salmon Falls, on Western Massachusetts’ Deerfield River, where Atlantic salmon and shad used to come in such numbers that a treaty was needed so that all of the region’s tribes could gather and fish in peace. The fact that this small dam and a few others power my entire county with renewable hydropower is something I like, but given the choice between that and salmon, I may have chosen to live in the dark …
