With so many people affected [by the decimation of salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest], proposals for protecting salmon are highly contentious. Although the root causes of the problem have long been well documented, investigators are just beginning to understand that human activities have selectively eliminated some populations of salmon while favoring others, resulting in the loss of much of the genetic heritage in these amazing animals. So here we try to show the risks confronting salmon populations and salmon biodiversity with a focus on the potential for genetic loss.

One major factor leading to the imperilment of freshwater mussels has been the large scale impoundment of rivers. We examined the distribution and abundance of mussels at 37 sites along a 240-km length of the Little River in southeastern Oklahoma

Formulation of recovery plans for endangered salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin of North America is a complex, controversial resource-management issue. This report presents an integrated assessment model to analyze the biological-economic tradeoffs in recovery of Snake River spring/summer-run chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

The authors find that the removal of an estuarine predator, the Caspian tern (Sterna caspia), and elimination of adult salmon harvest are recovery measures that markedly increase long-term population-growth rates regardless of transport effectiveness. Dam breaching significantly increases growth rates under the best available estimate of transport effectiveness. The authors also conclude that recovery strategies in the cost-effective set depend on assumptions about transport effectiveness. Tern removal and harvest elimination are generally cost effective. At the best estimate of transport effectiveness, strategies that discontinue smolt transportation or breach dams are prevalent in the cost-effective set. In contrast, strategies that maximize transportation are prevalent in the cost-effective set if transport effectiveness is relatively high.

This paper links biology and economics through an integrated model thus providing a valuable tool for science-based policy and management.

The paper can be downloaded from Michael R. Moore's website at http://sitemaker.umich.edu/micmoore/working_papers