Environment: Senator's fight for fish not a lost cause

Re: “Keep hands off our water, California,” (TNT editorial, 12/16).

On behalf of conservation and fishing advocates in Washington state and across the West Coast, I send my deep appreciation to Sen. Maria Cantwell for standing up for wild salmon, the healthy ecosystems and the waters that sustain them, and the fishing communities and businesses that are sustained by them.

While Cantwell may have lost her battle to stop a destructive water bill from gaining approval in the Senate, she stood up courageously for a healthy economy and a healthy environment. Congressional leadership in California insisted on a damaging provision that allows additional water to be pumped from the San Joaquin River for wealthy agribusiness interests at the expense of salmon fishermen and an already endangered ecosystem, the San Francisco Bay Delta.

Conservationists and fishermen applaud the senator’s efforts and pledge our readiness to work with her and others to defend the rivers and salmon of Washington and the Pacific Northwest and to craft durable, equitable and sustainable solutions that work for all of our communities.

(Bogaard is executive director of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition.)

This story was originally published January 5, 2017 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Environment: Senator's fight for fish not a lost cause."