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Oregon Businesses Ask Oregon Leaders to Help Un-Dam the Snake River by By Columbia Riverkeeper Columbia Community Connection, July 12, 2022

Salmon do not have a choice. We do.

Oregon businesses sent a letter asking Oregon elected officials to help remove Lower Snake River dams. The letter signed by close to 70 businesses--addressed to Representative DeFazio, Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden and others--calls on them to support an ongoing collaboration between Tribes, state and federal policymakers, and the Biden Administration to remove the Lower Snake River dams and re-invest in river communities and infrastructure.

The request highlights the importance of salmon and un-damming the Snake River dam to a wide range of Oregon businesses. For many Oregon businesses, Snake River dam removal is a moral issue as well as an economic one.

"As a fisherman and an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, I have a cultural connection to the Salmon as they are ones that sustain my peoples existence and wellbeing. My people also have traditions of trade and commerce that predate colonization and the dams that followed that continue to this day," said Lukas Angus of 7 Waters Sovereign Foods LLC. "Article 3 of the Treaty of 1855 states, among other things, 'The right of taking fish at all usual and accustomed places.' How are we to do this if there are no Salmon left? So the damming of the rivers including the four lower Snake River dams is continuing to threaten extinction of the Salmon, Indigenous ways of life, and is an affront to Tribal Sovereignty. THE DAMS NEED TO COME DOWN. . . NOW!"

"We stand in solidarity against extinction and want to help send a strong message to our elected officials that saving salmon from extinction and restoring a free-flowing river is a priority for Oregon business owners," said Abram Tannenbaum, co-owner of Grapevine Outdoor, an advertising company based in Portland. Grapevine co-sponsored a "Free the Snake" double-wallscape advertising sign in downtown Portland on NW 15th Ave and Everett street, in collaboration with 1% for the Planet, as well as helped support multiple other billboards for the campaign.

Columbia Riverkeeper helped coordinate and deliver this letter. Columbia Riverkeeper is a nonprofit organization with over 16,000 members and supporters that works to protect the water quality of the Columbia River and all life connected to it, from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.

The letter is below:

July 12, 2022 Congressman Peter DeFazio 405 East 8th Ave., #2030 Eugene, OR 97401

Sent via email to: KP.Pratt@mail.house.gov

Re: Act now to stop the extinction of Snake River salmon.

Dear Representative DeFazio,

We are Oregon small businesses, including fishers, farmers, food distributors, wholesale and retail market owners, brewers, restaurant owners, healers, artists, real estate professionals, and many others. In short, we are businesses in Oregon that oppose the extinction of Snake River salmon. For Oregonians, salmon is more than a fish. More than a food, a product, or a brand, it is a critical part of our ecosystem and is deeply connected to our sense of place and our cultural identity.

But salmon in the Columbia River basin are struggling. Urgent work is needed to prevent extinction and restore abundance in a way that brings everyone--including Oregon businesses--forward together. We recognize and appreciate your efforts to date to protect salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and we ask for your bold leadership at this moment of great urgency and opportunity. We strongly support the ongoing collaboration between Tribes, stakeholders, state and federal policymakers, and the Biden Administration to remove the Lower Snake River dams and re-invest in our communities and critical infrastructure. With today's technology, we can replace the services that the Snake River dams provide and accomplish the greatest salmon restoration project in our nation's history. We need your committed leadership and engagement to make the most of this political moment. Snake River salmon visit Oregon twice in their lives, as they migrate to and from the ocean. As a keystone species, salmon help define our ecosystem. So much so that nutrients from salmon can be found in the trees. Over 135 species depend on salmon, including the thousands of people who fish for them each year. Losing these fish would directly affect Oregon businesses, families, Tribes, and our shared environment. Therefore, you should begin treating Snake River dam removal as a crucial "Oregon" issue.

Salmon do not have a choice. We do. This moment calls for urgent action. In 2022, we ask you to help deliver legislation to remove Lower Snake River dams, recover salmon, provide justice to Tribes, and invest in critical infrastructure. Thank you for considering our concerns and interests. Please contact us if you have any questions or if we can assist in any way.

Signed:

Climate Change Recovery

Polarity Center of Salem

Meadow Goldman Yoga Therapy and Massage LLC

VistaBarn

Spitaleri Handlin Bookkeeping and Tax Service Inc

Urban Inspection, LLC

Roots Realty

Oregon Photo Adventure

Keel Energy

Easy Living LLC

Melanie McCloskey Coaching

Craft o graph

WyEast Expeditions

Janet Kirkland, PhD, PC; Psychology Practice

Woodlawn Coffee and Pastry

Landstar

Teton NewMedia Inc.

Timbercrest LLC

A-Z Studios LLC

LisaECohn.com

Notable Academy

Pine Dune Pottery

Joyce Follingstad, Ph.D.

Lovely Harvest

Morgaine Faye

Dekum Street Theater

Ex Novo Brewing Co.

PT Lawn Seed

Joan Horton, CPA

Christine Bourdette Studio, LLC

JC Customs

Bluebug Arts

Keath A Silva

Home Team Realty

Zócalo Wellness

SAS Holdings, LLC

Eurofaux

Lorena Sprager and Associates, LLC

Laughing Mountain, LLC

Give&Take Resale

Kasama Farm

Illumination Rock Integrative Medicine

Banner Non-profits, LLC

Teresa Keane Consulting

Gabriel's Bakery

The Pet Fund

Caspian Properties LLC

Hood River Pedicab, EV Taxi & Delivery

Birdsmouth Design-Build

Plazm Media, Inc.

Dancing Redband Publications

Rich Earth Organic Skin Care Studio

7 Waters Sovereign Foods LLC

Alan De Anda GIS Analyst

Your Personal Ceremony

Blue Ox Tattoo

Scout Bee Farm

City Bookkeeper, Accounting

The Fossil Cartel

Katy Weaver Photography

Albina City Nuts - Manufacturing

Vertical Grain Consulting

Seed Network of Oregon

Evergreen Sustainability LLC

Spire Technologies, Inc.

Clinton Street Theater

Wayward & Wild

Aesthete Tea

Grapevine Outdoor