Salmon: Running the Gauntlet

For thousands of years, salmon made the last migration of their lives by swimming upstream to spawn in the streams and lakes of the Columbia River basin, creating what novelist David James Duncan here calls an “orgy of abundance” that nourished wildlife (such as eagles and bears) along the rivers, as well as the Native American population, and generations of commercial fishermen. In little more than 100 years, however, much of this bounty has vanished. Narrated by Jay O. Sanders, filmmaker Rob Whittlesey's Salmon: Running the Gauntlet—an episode of the PBS-aired NATURE series—examines the sad plight of the salmon, a victim of humans' well-intentioned but misguided interference, with once free-flowing rivers blocked with locks and dams, and commercial hatcheries substituting for the creature's innate resilience and adaptability. Striking footage depicts the salmon's natural life cycle in this film that also covers the lengthy and expensive efforts to keep the salmon a part of a viable fishing industry. Sportsmen, industry experts, and government officials weigh in on the human and natural costs, which include a trail of broken promises and treaties with Native Americans who gave away both land and a way of life for fishing rights. Recovery efforts are stirring, including stream restoration and the removal of small dams, but ultimately the battles will be waged in state houses and in the hearts and minds of residents throughout the region. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)