Save our Endangered Salmon and Orcas: Join us Sept. 8-9 for Free the Snake Flotilla!

For far too long, the four outdated and costly dams in the lower Snake River have pushed our wild salmon and Southern Resident Orcas to the brink of extinction. 28 Pacific salmon stocks are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The status quo has already cost taxpayers more than $16 billion without recovering a single endangered salmon population. Furthermore, our Southern Resident Orcas only eat salmon, and new research has discovered that Washington’s Southern Resident Orcas are starving on our watch- with two-thirds of Southern Resident Orca pregnancies failing due to insufficient food. The Southern Resident Orcas are not only one of the most endangered species in Washington state; they’re also one of the most endangered animals in the world. We can’t restore this highly endangered population of orcas without restoring the salmon. Their fates are intertwined.

It’s long past time we urge our elected leaders to take swift and serious action to chart a path toward true recovery and a brighter future for our fishing, tribal and rural communities — and of course, our iconic wild salmon and Southern Resident Orcas.

Last year more than 400 people from throughout the Pacific Northwest came together in support of the return of a free-flowing lower Snake River. Join a growing movement on September 8 and 9 at Chief Timothy Park in Clarkston, Washington as we take to the water with one clear message: Free the Snake River! Bring your kayak, canoe, jetboat, dory, raft, pontoon, motor boat, drift boat or other vessel and join us for an easy paddle on the lower Snake River in support of removing four costly and destructive dams to restore a free-flowing river and wild salmon and steelhead. There will also be a family-friendly event featuring music performances and speakers for those who want to join the event from land.

We have an unprecedented opportunity to restore one of the world’s greatest salmon rivers. Together we can free the Snake River, restore our wild salmon, Southern Resident Orcas, and our Northwest way of life.

For more information and to register: www.freethesnake.com

Hope to see you on the water!