Yesterday was Sea Wolf One’s last day overlooking the traps on the Columbia River. The mobile monitoring vehicle has been in the field documenting and intervening against the government’s program to trap and kill sea lions for exactly two months. The sea lions have already begun their natural migration back to the mouth of the Columbia where they will head south down the coast from there.
Has the Sea Lion Defense Brigade been successful?
Clearly Yes.
At the beginning of this year’s harassment and killing season, the government’s plan was to kill 64 california sea lions. They have not met their quota by 54! Thanks to the dedicated watchdogs and concerned citizens continuously keeping the government under close scrutiny and holding them accountable at every turn. Thank you to all the people that made the process as rocky as possible!!
One of the purposes of SLDB has been to expose to the public the ‘treadmill of death’ that Sharon Young of the Human Society of North America predicted would happen if sea lions would be removed from the area. Sharon, who is also on the Pinniped Task Force warned early on that the removal of sea lions would just bring other sea lions up to replace those sea lions, not reducing the amount of salmon consumed, just killing more sea lions. The amount of salmon consumed every year, has stayed about the same (between 3,000-5,000 salmon at the dam- the main fishing hole on the river). The latest report by ODFW biologist reflects BOTH of these predictions are true. Indeed, more animals came up to take the places of the animals killed AND this program is NOT saving salmon.
SLDB and In Defense of Animals have taken the hard road, to speak the truth about what will save salmon and the other eighteen threatened fish species on the river. Sea lions and salmon have evolved together over thousands of years, alongside cormorants, bears, osprey, sea otters, and bald eagles. The only species whose fault it is for depleting the salmon population and causing endangerment among many Columbia Basin species is: human. The only way to restore native populations to the ecosystem is to address our own behavior. The 18 mega-dams along the river, the continued overfishing, the release of non-native fish species for sports fishing, pollution through the Hanford site, pesticide and herbicide run-off from agriculture, the longterm effects from logging….
all dramatic habitat changes, that our species caused.
If we know that habitat loss is the source of the problem and we know all the major causes of habitat loss, then, logically, why would we not try to fix the TRUE problems? Blaming sea lions is reflective of poor leadership, and spending millions of dollars is not only a waste of money but worse, sloppy and ineffective management.
Another purpose of SLDB and IDA’s has been to bring together wildlife lovers in united opposition against the corrupt management agencies of the states. government and industry make a very unattractive couple. While the fishing industry has been very vocal, hysterically calling for the death of all pinnipeds on the river, it is important to remember, that there are a lot more people that love and appreciate sea lions, wildlife, and nature. When most people hear that the state and fishermen want to kill sea lions because the fishermen believe the sea lions are competing for ‘their’ fish, those fishermen sound ignorant and selfish. And the government going along with it appears spineless and under the control of big money while practicing outdated management strategies- THAT HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF FAILURE. There are far more people that want to protect sea lions and other wildlife and we have been working to give those people a voice.
Earlier this week two of the four traps were removed from the dam. While Sea Wolf One will not be returning to the banks of the Columbia this year, thanks to our presence over the last two months, we have many more sea lion defenders on the river, watching for any foul play that may occur. Thank you to all the monitors that patrolled between Astoria and Bonneville dam. Thank you to the many locals that stopped by with words of support and donations of money, food, and other supplies. We also appreciate all of the conversations had out on the banks and hope that we were able to plant some seeds of change…. living with nature, instead of trying to dominate her.
Is Sea Wolf One done for the year? The Killing is authorized everywhere these “listed for death” sea lions go except the breeding grounds. They can be killed anywhere in the United States any time of year. Is SeaWolf One going to monitor the mouth of the Columbia? Or Newport where a new death trap was recently placed? If two of the traps were removed from the dam where did they go? Are the two traps at another coastal estuary like Girabaldi or Coos bay? It seems that there are more questions than ever about the killing program and it is far too early to claim a victory but it is time for even more monitoring at all the places these targeted for death sea lions go before reaching “base” at the breeding grounds. Please say that Sea Wolf One has just begun and is following the sea lions to the breeding grounds off southern California and will be investigating all the coastal communities along the way to document all the new “death traps” or where the Bonneville ones have been moved too. The government will see this premature leaving as giving up, “they got bored and left – it was only a matter of time”. The Goverment will see that Sea Wolf One has left 2 weeks before the killing stops at Bonneville dam as a win for them “we killed ten and they left early -WE WIN!!” I must say I am a little discouraged that Sea Wolf One is not sticking it out for the killing season at Bonneville. Again, I hope the efforts are being redistributed to keep these animals safe and the government accountable as these sea lions travel south to breed – if they make it and are not “removed” first that is.
On another note the states pay anglers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to kill native pikeminnows on the Columbia River to save salmon while at the same time protecting exotic salmon predators like bass and walleye. If the defense brigade cares so much about salmon it would be an excellent next step to protest the pikeminnow slaughter that tax dollars are paying for that takes place right next to where the sea lions are being killed. But Pikeminnows are not cute like sea lions so I guess their senseless murders by the 10s of thousands this year in the name saving salmon are not as important as those 10 cute sea lions.
And what about the Cormarants and Terns that nest at the mouth of the Columbia? Oregon State University studies what the Cormarants and Terns eat every summer. How they determine exactly what the birds are eating is they shoot them as they return to feed their young and then study what is in their stomachs. Thats right, our tax dollars are being spent to kill hundreds of native birds as they return to feed their babies just to see what is in their stomachs. And of course the baby birds die after their parents have been shot in front of them in the name of research. These native birds are beings scapegoated the same as the native pikeminnow and the native sea lions. The states are using tax dollars to kill thousands of native fish and birds that have co-evolved with salmon for thousands of years – thousands of lives wasted and no one is there to speak for them because they are not cute like a sea lion. Why has no one spoken up for the pike minnow which die by the thousands every year in the misguided attempt to save salmon? We should focus on saving lives, not just 10 cute lives, but the thousands of not so cute pike minnows cormarants and terns that are murdered each year to “save salmon”.
This really is a war against nature – not just 10 cute sea lions – lets keep that in perspective.
Betty
No, Betty, “the government” has been watching SLDB very closely for the past three years. (How do we know? Because we watch them back, just as closely.) We’re not concerned that anyone thinks we’re just getting bored. I think that’s quite a stretch.
As for our plans from here, you’re welcome to join the monitoring effort. Other than that, no, we’re not publishing our plans here.
Sea lion defense brigadiers will continue to monitor the entire Columbia (and now Willamette) as they have always done. And, as always, we can use some help. So Betty, if you want to save the cute and the not so cute (labels which always mystify me – we are not here because these animals are cute, we are here because killing them is wrong)… But if you would like to help save them, why not join the monitoring effort? You can contact SLDB at info@sealiondefensebrigade.org to find out how.
As it happens, we’ve been fortunate enough to have people willing to spend months of their lives camped out 24 hours a day on the banks of the Columbia to do whatever they can to save these animals. So I guess I’m a little curious about your criticisms. Don’t take this the wrong way, Betty, but it sounds a little like you’re trying to bait us into divulging what the next plan is… by criticizing some really dedicated people for not doing “enough” when they’ve done so much more than anyone else has at this point.
I’d love to see more people get up and do something to save the sea lions. You game?
I’m just concerned that Sea Wolf One arrived at the dam this year only AFTER the killing had begun and now has left BEFORE the killing has ended. It would seem practical that Sea Wolf One would have something more pressing with respect to saving natural co-evolved salmon predators than monitoring the killings at Bonneville dam – thats all. Sorry if you took my helpful suggestions and inquiry as undeserved critisism.
Saving natural co-evolved salmon predators is important. So, why has the Pikeminnow been ignored for decades while the states have been paying anglers millions to kill millions of them? Only after one co-evolved salmon predator, the sea lion, became a target in the war against nature did people begin to speak up. But for decades nobody has spoken up for the pikeminnow. Millions of pikeminnow lives have been wasted along with the tax dollars paid to fisherman to kill them but no one has spoken up for them – until now. This is where I am going to focus my attention, helping save the pikeminnow, their lives are just as important as the lives of the sea lion and thousands are murdered each year as scapegoats. I hope someone else can take on the senseless killing of terns and cormarants as they return to feed their young in the name of research.
Betty
Yes, I think it’s important to monitor what is happening to the sea lions. That’s why I plan to go to the river and do just that. I think if Betty thinks it’s important, she should too. Better to act than to post to the internet. That’s not really action at all.
Great job sea wolf and sea lion defense brigade! Thanks for all the inspiration!
Thank You, Sea lion Defense Brigade for all the great work you all have done to combat the misinformation that the corporate media spews– surrounding this issue. Thank you for educating the public and telling the truth about Sea lions, the salmon, and the impacts of human predation on the river. Thank you all for your tireless dedication to protect these majestic creatures, and for working to find real solutions to help save sea lions and salmon. Thank you, all for working to hold government agencies accountable and for demanding transparency, and providing citizen oversight–without you there would have been none! Thank you for schooling the public on the real issues for salmon decline and for advocating for a better use of our tax dollars. You guys rock! I wish all humans to aspire to follow your example and to hold such government agencies accountable. SLDB has integrity –the fishing industry, corporate media, and politicians do not. I hope humans can learn to use cognitive thought and walk hand in hand with Mother Nature–instead of blindly following Neanderthal instinct to blindly shoot to kill.
[...] Sea Lion Defense Brigade has wrapped up their campaign and is claiming success. Congrats to them for keeping a close eye on the State’s insane plan [...]
I see from the Army Corps weekly update from May 21 posted on this website that the Bonneville death traps caught another sea lions this week. Thankfully, they could not assign a current death number to this sea lion who is just doing what sea lions do – eat fish – and the government agents had to release him. This is the exact reason I was critical of Sea Wolf One for giving up the monitoring for the year – no one was at the dam to speak up for this animal who had numbers seared onto his back by government agents so they can identify him next time he goes up the the dam to do what sea lions have always done – eat fish.
I read the article again and has sea wolf one given up for the rest of the year? The article claims victory of 54 sea lions saved due to the presence of sea wolf one at the dam for 2 months this spring but the states can still kill all those sea lions on the death list anywhere they go in the US but the rookeries. How can Sea Wolf One and the SLDB claim a quantified victory when these animals on the death list are going to be targeted year round?
“Yesterday (5-14)was Sea Wolf One’s last day overlooking the traps on the Columbia River.” Why give up now when this battle against nature has just begun?
[Ed Note: Betty, rather than being "critical" that "no one was at the dam," why not get thee to the dam?]