Salmon - The Spokesmodel of the Northwest

If you played the word association game with “Pacific Northwest”, what would come to mind? Rain, green, Space Needle, ocean…. Odds are, that list would include “salmon,” one of the most enduring icons of the Pacific Northwest, and a creature that has sustained the environment and human society in Cascadia throughout history. Images of the Northwest invariably include salmon spawning in the rivers and being eaten by bears or eagles, Native American totems of salmon, fishing boats heading to sea, plates of gourmet prepared salmon steaks, historical photos of Native Americans spear fishing at waterfalls, current photos of catch-and-release fly fishermen wading in rivers.


Above: Salmon passing through the fish ladder at the Chittenden Locks in Seattle. Film by artist Jeff Hull.

To discuss the role of salmon in historical and current day ecosystem, culture and politics is a daunting task. Topics include: A basic primer on salmons’ life cycle and the species; salmon’s integral role in the Pacific NW ecosystem and the impact of environmental change on salmon populations; tribal culture, mythology, and political history; current politics of resource management and conflicting demands (land development and its impact, farming vs hydroelectric energy vs salmon preservation, tribal vs commercial vs recreational fishing rights, and the wild vs farmed salmon debate); culinary topics; and salmon fishing as recreation.

Cascadia Song is embarking on an occasional series touching on all these topics, providing links to informational resources. To start, educational links on the topics of the salmon life cycle and the species native to the Pacific Northwest are listed below.

Salmon Life Cycle:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/pugetsound/species/salmon_cyc.html
http://www.fish.washington.edu/hatchery/education.html

Species of Pacific Northwest Salmon:

http://www.hitime.com/sdscptn.htm
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/salmon/id.htm
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/ESA-Salmon-Listings/Salmon-Populations/

The Pink Season

There is a fleeting season in Seattle, a brief time when all of the many Japanese cherry trees are in bloom… the pink season. It might be the profound Asian influence on Seattle, due to its Pacific Rim location and long history of Japanese immigration. Or, it could be just that these lovely trees thrive in the Northwest and provide one of the first glimpses of the coming season. For whatever reason, Seattlites though the years have planted and tended thousands of these stunning arbors.

The blooms last only 2-3 weeks, depending on the weather. Some blossom later than others (like the double-blossomed type), stretching the spectacle to about six weeks. Their impact on the early spring season is profound. When the trees are in bloom, one can find stretches of boulevards lined with big pink puff balls. When the petals fall, it is a blizzard of soft, pink snow that drift against the curbs and tree trunks and bunches of blooming daffodils. The leaves are bronze-green, lending a warm, rich tone into summer and fall.

Some folks are not impressed with the city’s fondness for these trees. Maybe these ornamentals are not modern enough, or pink is not chic. Admittedly, these are pretty trees, not dramatic in branching habit, or exotic in leaf shape or color. They have been in the landscape for ages, so are not on the cutting edge of landscape design fashion.
They are old-fashioned like the snowball bush, lilac and forsythia. In that way they are comforting like chicken pot pies and laundry lines filled with blowing linens held in place by wooden pins. And, they mark the coming of a welcomed season when the returning sun warms faces, loosens the soil, rouses flowers and birds, and lingers later every day.