Analysis: To Save Salmon Think Like A Beaver

In Northern California alone there are roughly 35,000 square miles of rugged, remote, unpopulated wilderness. This land is full of steep sided mountains, canyons and thick forests. Liebig's Law of the Minimum shows

Additionally, Royal gives clarification for Native Americans’ positive stereotypes. He explains, “ But this is far from modern concepts of ecology. Native Americans in fact overhunted deer and beaver even before the arrival of the white man, and did not seriously try to preserve the resources in the vicinity of their villages. As a result, the typical woodland village, having exhausted local soil and game, had to move on average every eight to 10 years” (Royal 47). Although the Native Americans did not destroy the environment like Europeans on such a large scale, they are not trying to protect the environment either. This opposes the stereotypes that Native Americans are model ecologists. Royal also examines the inhumane sides of Native American tribes. Royal reveals, “The

From the San Francisco Bay to streams and rivers of Oregon, salmon populations have been steadily decreasing over the past two decades but more rapidly within recent years. In general, fish populations in the Pacific Northwest region have always fluctuated, but the overall trend continues on a downward slope to extinction. While natural phenomena such as flooding and predators of the food chain do affect salmon populations, human activity poses the greatest threat by far. The four main reasons of salmon plummeting are as followed: Harvest, Hatcheries, Hydropower, and Habitat. It’s clear that water ecosystems and management of human activity threaten salmon as a whole. Whether it’s a bay, river or stream- whatever body of water that contains salmon should be subject to ethics that guide our actions as a part of achieving a better overall environment.

An endangered species is a species of either plant or animal that is in serious risk of becoming extinct. This name became connected with the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in 1994 after being petitioned to be put on the list for nine years (NOAA). There are two main reasons behind the endangerment of the Chinook salmon: over exploration, and dams. Since the times of the Native Americans, Chinook salmon have been highly sought after as a food source. Since then the salmon have experienced great amounts of overfishing. Along with water demands which has resulted in overuse of water and diversion of water had affected spawning sites and loss of habitat putting further strain on their habitats (National Wildlife Federation).

“California has it’s own list of endangered species of animals.” Like all states, California is home to many species of animals that are listed and protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. (http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/endangered-species/californias-endangered-animals/6037)

California is one of the most diverse states in the nation with public lands extending across rangelands, forests, high mountains, deserts, and the Pacific coast.

California is a beautiful place to consider settling down in, with large cities full of attractions, and a diverse populace gleaming with culture, California isn’t just the place for you it’s the place for everyone.

California’s diverse ecosystems will collapse because the lack of freshwater will no longer be able to preserve life. In the PPIC Water Policy Center’s study “What If California’s Drought Continues?”, the authors note that, “The most acute and severe impacts of this drought so far are on California’s freshwater habitats and forested lands and on the biodiversity they support” (Hanak, et al.). California’s wetland

Habitat destruction caused by commercial farming, and logging, is a major threat for the region, as the California Floristic Province produces half of all the cultivated products used by U.S. consumers. The hotspot is also heavily threatened by the urbanization, pollution, and road construction. (University of California, 2017).

For people whose lives had revolved around farming, this seemed like an ideal place to look for work.” Therefore the geographical and social tragedies of the nation caused many farmers to relocate to California.

American ideals about diets and body images are constantly changing. It seems as though we are always searching for a “perfect” food, one which will keep us slim while providing the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients necessary for survival. In recent years, the focus has shifted from concerns about fat and carbohydrates to overall health and wellbeing. There has been an increasing emphasis placed on ‘organic’ foods – foods grown without pesticides, chemicals, and inorganic fertilizers. Cancer has become a huge concern, as it is being linked to many of the chemicals and pesticides used in food production. The ‘perfect’ food has become one which is capable of blocking the growth of cancer

Biodiversity also provides many economic benefits that Harris Ranch could profit from. Biodiversity is known to bring in ecotourism. Harris Ranch Inn see an increase in profits from preserving the areas biodiversity, however the degradation of local biodiversity could cause your inn to see a decline in profits. Preserving biodiversity of California could also have some personal I would like to imagine that, you being California born and raised, would like to preserve the land you have grown to love, and holds your family

Krech ends this chapter saying, “An ideology permeated by the hope of reciprocity deeply embedded in native social and natural relations also parallels the ideological predisposition of many Western ecologists and wildlife biologists.” (Krech, 1999 P. 209) While I think there is certain level of truth in this comparison looking at wildlife conservation, I would argue that the interests of Native Indigenous groups’s and Biologists of European decent in conservation historically stem from greatly differing places, thus making their outlooks parallel only at a surface level. One of my key takeaways from this reading was that, at lease in some substantial capacity, the conservationist movement in North America, adopted by European colonialists, was not born out of ethical awakening, but in the face of resource scarcity. Furthermore, in the seventeenth century a concern for beaver conservation and having, “Beaver meat and skins in the greatest abundance.” (Krech, 1999, P. 182) would not arise without beavers being seen as valuable commodities on the European market. More specifically, it was noticed that those commodities could and would run dry, if precautions were not taken to maintain them cyclically. Thus arose Le Jeune’s initial idea of not killing every beaver in sight, but the only the, “males and of those only such as are large.” (Krech, 1999, P.182) as to kill just enough to maximize profits, but not to many, as to insure repopulation for the next season.

In this paper, I will discuss the Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean and its implications for its member-countries, as well as the international community as a whole. The treaty was ratified in 1983, several years after the initial creation of 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones around states (Windsor, 1993, 38). According to Windsor, “[Growing] concern about salmon catches in home waters, resulted in a number of appeals by interested parties to work toward greater international cooperation through an international convention” (Windsor, 1993, 38).

Planet Earth is home to millions of species with different forms of life. Due to habitat loss and destruction, hunting, climate change, agriculture, pollution, and deforestation, many animal and plant species have been decreasing significantly. Wildlife conservation, management plans, and acts have been passed in order to help preserve the diverse wildlife habitat An example of wildlife conservation is the Cosumnes River Preserve which is the largest river in central California with natural and unregulated stream flows. It consists of approximately 45,859 acres of wildlife habitat and agricultural lands such as rivers, wetlands, floodplains, savannah, farmland, and forest. With a diverse habitat, the Cosumes River Preserve was established as a reconciled ecosystem in order to maintain new habitats to conserve species diversity and to protect and restore Central Valley Wetlands, however improvements can be made in order to prevent threats.