Will America’s parks be his oyster?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:18:00 +0000

In an era where bending science to suit political interests has become all too common, President Obama has trumpeted his commitment to reversing the trend. "Promoting science," Obama said in March, introducing his liberal policy on stem-cell research, "is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology." A few weeks later, he emphasized the point during a speech before the National Academy of Sciences. "I want to be sure that facts are driving scientific decisions -- and not the other way around," he said.

So Obama's nomination Friday of Jon Jarvis to head the National Park Service raised some eyebrows, particularly in Point Reyes, Calif., an environmentally driven town north of San Francisco, where Jarvis' name can start fiery debates about putting politics ahead of science.

Will the salmon be back in 2009?

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:59:00 +0000

As winter chills the rivers and streams of California and Oregon, a beleaguered batch of chinook salmon has finally finished its long trip home from the Pacific Ocean. In the gravel of gentle rapids and shaded pools, eggs laid by a decimated group of females are growing, starting the next generation of chinook on their turbulent journey to the ocean and back.

For their part, Pacific fishermen can only hope for the best. After all, it would be tough for things to get worse. In 2008, both commercial and sport fishing for the salmon was completely shut down along the coast from Southern California to northern Oregon for the first time in history.

"This was the first time that I sat around San Francisco and wasn't out there catching wild California king salmon," says Larry Collins, one of roughly 1,500 commercial fishermen forced to spend summer on dry land.

Collins and his fellow anglers blame debased rivers for the collapse of one of the country's prime salmon fisheries. An onslaught of dams and diversions that channel water to suburbs and subsidized crops has depleted fresh water for the fish. The Central Valley river system has historically produced one of the largest runs of chinook in the continental United States. Yet in 2008 roughly 90 percent fewer salmon returned to spawn than in 2004.

Salon.com > Jacoba Charles

Will America’s parks be his oyster?

Will the salmon be back in 2009?