THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGED FAITH COMMUNITIES
BY JOSEPH BOGAARD
Salmon are one of the Northwest’s earliest and most influential inhabitants. Fossilized, eight-foot “spiketoothed salmon” have been found in central Oregon embedded in rocks that are more than 4 million years old. Scientists credit more contemporary salmon populations with building the tremendous biodiversity of life across this region—its lush ancient forests, rich ecosystems, and abundant fish and wildlife populations. More than 135 other species— insects, plants, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds— all benefit from healthy abundant salmon populations and, conversely, suffer from their absence.
Salmon leave their natal streams as tiny juvenile fish and enter the ocean where they grow to great size. Then, miraculously, they return a few years later as adults to their freshwater rivers and streams to spawn and die. In doing so, salmon deliver immense quantities of ocean-derived nutrients that nourish terrestrial habitats and their inhabitants—like cedar trees, bears, wolves, eagles, and people.
Think for a moment about this return, this annual ritual of animated, marine energy and matter in the form of millions of fish across uncountable generations swimming against the current and surging into the far reaches of the Columbia and Snake Rivers and their tributaries and across the Pacific Northwest. One can begin to understand the outsized role that salmon have played over a very long time to build a diverse and abundant Northwest landscape.
restoration leaders and colleagues spent 5 days together rafting and camping in Hells Canyon on the Snake River last September.
Article photos courtesy of the author.
Over the past century or more, however, these ancient relationships and connections have been severed. Lands and waters have been “developed,” rivers dammed and polluted, forests clearcut. The changing climate is now adding new pressures and new urgency for big actions and, we hope, more humble attitudes. Salmon are connectors—of lands and water and wildlife and people— so our solutions to support their recovery require holistic approaches that reflect this shared truth.
Left: Looking down on the Grand Ronde River in northeast Oregon. The Grand Ronde joins the Snake River a few miles upstream from Lewiston, ID. Above/ Right: Snake River
Efforts to protect wild salmon from extinction and restore them to abundance is one of the Pacific Northwest’s most profound and consequential battles today. Salmon and steelhead represent the wild, ancient heart of this place we all call home.
Perhaps more than any other species, these native fish define our region and its special way of life. Since time immemorial, salmon have been at the center of Northwest Tribal cultures, economies, and spiritual traditions. Much has been lost over the past 100 years, and many salmonid populations today are struggling for survival and running out of time. Continued unnecessary and avoidable losses of this special keystone species will have devastating effects on our region’s identity and ecology and Tribal and non-Tribal communities alike.
It doesn’t have to be this way. But big changes are urgently needed in how we live and conduct ourselves if salmon are going to be given the opportunity to restore themselves. With their values and traditional ecological knowledge, Tribes are increasingly leading the way today.
Inspired by the fish themselves, diverse advocates, who may have worked separately in the past, are joining forces to protect, restore, and reconnect the healthier rivers and watersheds that salmon need. With Tribal communities in the lead, these alliances are gaining power and securing historic wins.
Working in collaboration, we’ve stopped destructive projects from moving forward such as the Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska. Our alliances and community organizing are also helping to correct past mistakes, including returning free-flowing rivers to salmon and steelhead by removing dams from the Elwha and Klamath Rivers. These hard-fought victories are restoring rivers, honoring salmon, and helping Tribal communities begin to heal.
Faith communities play an important and influential role working and collaborating with others to help right these historic wrongs. Given the past involvement of many churches and religious leaders in subjugating lands, waters, and peoples, faith communities’ more recent activities and commitments to advance justice by supporting Tribal leadership and allying with nongovernmental organizations is both powerful and inspiring.
Leadership from within the faith community is needed now more than ever, given the highly polarized environment in which we find ourselves. In my experience working as an advocate, clergy and religious leaders have an exceptional ability to bridge divides, encourage listening and learning, and cultivate an atmosphere where lasting solutions can be discussed and developed. This strong value of collaboration allows diverse voices
to come to the table and honors differences while also upholding interconnectedness in working together for justice and shared solutions.
As the late Pope Francis stated so eloquently in Laudato Si’ (On Care for our Common Home), “We need a conversation that includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”
In many communities, clergy are seen as peacemakers who can help find common ground and provide a safe space for stakeholders to have a conversation about a different and better future for our region.
We saw this in 2018, when Save Our Wild Salmon partnered with Earth Ministry on a series of “Loaves and Fishes” gatherings in houses of worship throughout eastern Washington, which brought together farmers, fishermen, tribal members, faith leaders, and local residents. Host clergy facilitated productive discussions on how we can work together to save wild salmon, honor Tribal treaties, and protect local farmers by removing the four dams on the lower Snake River and replacing the services those dams provide.
At Save Our wild Salmon, we deeply appreciate the vital role that faith communities play in advocacy. People of faith provide an important perspective and raise a strong moral voice that resonates with policymakers, reminding them that their decisions impact real creatures and communities whom they have promised to protect and serve. Faith messengers, from bishops to lay leaders and everyday people in the pews, bring with them a credibility that other constituencies do not always have and are uniquely able to reach across the aisle and connect on issues of shared concern.
Save Our wild Salmon has been working in coalition since the 1990s to rebuild abundant salmon and steelhead populations and the great benefits they bring to people and ecosystems by protecting, restoring, and reconnecting their rivers and streams. The faith community in the Northwest has been an important and influential partner in these efforts for many years. We are grateful for the friendships and the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with members of the faith community to support salmon recovery and remind policymakers of our nation’s long-standing promises to the region’s Tribes and to be better stewards of the lands and waters we all depend upon and call home. We look forward to continuing this collaborative work in the years ahead. We are always stronger together.
Looking down on the John Day River during a river trip I took with my wife, Amy, in May 2024. The John Day flows north through eastern Oregon and is a tributary of the Columbia River.
ACTIVISM GROUNDED IN THE NATURAL WORLD
Advocacy, collective action, and community organizing are essential ingredients for bringing about a brighter and more positive future. But it is also very important for us all to step back and take time to nurture a direct and intimate relationship with the natural world. For me, this frequently includes time alone and with others on or near rivers. Here are few of my favorites.
SKAGIT RIVER: The Skagit is located in northwest Washington State. Its headwaters are located in British Columbia, and it flows south and west through the heart of North Cascades National Park and then through the broad forested valley it created and into the Salish Sea. It is home to many salmon— chinook, sockeye, chum, and steelhead, though at much lower numbers than at previous times in its history.
Seattle City Light owns and operates three dams on the Skagit River that are now undergoing a relicensing process involving the Swinomish and Upper Skagit Valley Tribes as well as local and regional stakeholders. Winter months can be a special time to visit, as eagles often congregate there to feast on the dead, spawned out chum salmon.
SNAKE RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES: The Snake River Basin was once among the most salmon-productive places in the Columbia Basin. It was home to millions of spring and fall chinook and steelhead, coho, and sockeye. Much of this basin today is managed as federal wilderness and protected lands and waters; it remains the greatest opportunity for fish and ecosystem restoration on the West Coast.
This beautiful landscape is well worth a visit; plan on joining Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment and allied nongovernmental organizations and supporters on the banks of the lower Snake River (reservoir) August 15 and 16, 2025 for fellowship, food, education, speakers, and much more. Visit nimiipuuprotecting.org or wildsalmon.org for more information and to register to attend. This event is free and all are welcome, so please spread the word to your friends and family!
NISQUALLY RIVER: The Nisqually is located in the south Puget Sound area. Its headwaters originate on Mt. Rainier and flow through the traditional lands of the Nisqually People. Levees, built more than a century ago on the estuary, were recently removed, allowing the river and its ancestral estuary to reemerge and reconnect.
There are wonderful trails to explore in the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge offers great access to the river, birding, and more.
ELWHA RIVER: I make at least one annual pilgrimage to the Elwha. This is an amazing place to visit and explore and to be reminded of the restorative powers of nature.
There are miles of trails along and above the river to explore. You can wander through lands that not long ago were submerged under reservoirs. On my most recent visit in April, we saw huge herds of elk, ravens and bald eagles soaring overhead, coyote tracks, and much more. You can also easily
… IT IS ALSO VERy IMPORTANT FOR US ALL TO STEP bACk AND TAkE TIME TO NURTURE A DIRECT AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATURAL WORLD.
access the mouth of the river where it mingles with the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Twelve years ago, beach walking here was an ankle-breaker. Starved of sands and sediments for more than a century, the beach was dominated by skull-sized rocks. Now that the dams have been removed, sediment delivery has been restored, and it’s a wonderful place to walk and spend time. And surf too: dam removal restored a pretty decent surf break here.
Joseph Bogard is the executive director of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, where he began working in 1996. Before joining the SOS team, Joseph spent many years teaching and working in the forests and mountains of the West. Today, he lives on Vashon Island with his partner, Amy. They have two adult children, Liesl and Jeremiah. He is a former commissioner of Water District 19 (King County) and currently serves as a board member with the NW Energy Coalition and Braided River.
Author with family on the Yakima River in central Washington State (2023).
Floating down the San Juan River, a tributary of the Colorado, in Utah in 2022.