Tippets: Boundary Waters Mining, Benbow Dam Demolition, California’s Lost Salmon

January 10, 2018 By: Erin Block

  • Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has “opened up the possibility of hard-rock mining on the borders of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Voyageurs National Park, reversing an Obama-era decision that might have protected the wilderness for decades.” Via The Star Tribune.
  • The removal of California’s Benbow Dam is now complete. “The removal of Benbow Dam moves us closer to reversing the alarming decline of West Coast fall-run Chinook, Coho salmon, and summer-run steelhead by restoring access to an additional 96 miles of prime habitat along the Eel River,” said Pat Montanio, director of the office of habitat conservation in NOAA Fisheries. Via The Times Standard.
  • After being trucked from California’s Coleman National Fish hatchery to the Pacific Ocean during drought conditions, salmon are encountering difficulty in finding their way back to their spawning grounds. Read more via Daily Democrat.