Other Environmental Issues

The Pacific Northwest is a great place to live, which inspires many people to care about the land around them. We have large expanses of productive conifer forests, most now in second- or third-growth. Clearcutting is efficient, but leaves ugly scars and can contribute to erosion and flooding. On the west side of the mountains people are crowded together and highways are at or beyond capacity. Salmon runs have been decimated from their former bounty. Is it due to conditions in the ocean or the string of dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers?