Daily Score Blog

In a step forward for bioregional thinking, Washington has agreed to add a new name to the Northwest's official geographic lexicon: the Salish Sea. Following on the heels of British Columbia's endorsement, the term will now be used to refer to the collective inland waters of Puget Sound, Georgia Straight, and the Straight of Juan de Fuca.

It doesn't replace any of those names, but "Salish Sea" does provide an important addition to our understanding of Cascadia. Because the new term is firmly rooted in both history and ecology, it may help direct more attention to protecting the natural heritage of the region.

At Crosscut, Knute Berger has done a bang-up job covering the Salish Sea name-change. See here, here, here, and here.

Last week, when I wrote that the costs of doing nothing about climate change outstrip the costs of fixing the problem, one person wrote asking for hard numbers. How do we know for certain which is more expensive? Maybe it will be cheaper to abandon ship, so to speak: move everyone (and everything) out of flood-prone areas and forget about reducing emissions.

Fair enough, I suppose. It would be interesting to see someone crunch those numbers. Plus, whether we reduce our emissions or not, we'll likely need to undertake some expense for "adaptation" -- the costs of managing the climate impacts that are already unavoidable.

More precisely though, it's a fair enough question only for those of us who don't have our livelihoods and heritage bound up in the Northwest's rivers and lowlands. Not everyone really has the option of leaving. Consider the tribes.

From the Cool Maps Department. And just a really cool idea that I just ran across at The Apollo Daily Digest. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging the development of renewable energy by identifying currently and formerly contaminated lands and mining sites that present opportunities for renewable energy development in all 50 states. It's the ultimate lemons to lemonade plan: taking the country's most wasted,ugly and contaminated sites and building facilities that will bring jobs to local communities and boost a more stable, prosperous clean energy economy.

(If you don't already have it, you must install Google Earth on your computer first to access the map, then follow the links here.)

Four tribes broke rank with conservationists yesterday and cut a deal with the federal government to end their longstanding opposition to dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers. In return, the Yakama, Colville, Umatilla and Warm Springs tribes will receive $900 million for restoring salmon habitat. The tribes see this as a solution to the enduring legal wars over salmon. "It's moving our energy from courtrooms to streambeds," John Ogan, attorney for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, told the Portland Oregonian.

Conservationists, on the other hand, are devastated at losing their key allies. But they’re not changing course. “(W)hat does the Endangered Species Act say needs to be done?” Todd True, a lawyer for Earthjustice, said in the New York Times. “And what does the science say needs to be done?” 

The Oregonian has the definitive report, although the story is covered in most of the big regional media outlets. The Boise Idaho Statesman, meanwhile, focuses on the Nez Perce’s position. They are the only tribe out of the five involved in the lawsuits to reject the deal.

In other news, see a great op-ed in the Juneau Empire by a 100-year-old Tlingit elder who was born the same year Alaska’s Tongass National Forest was established. He compares the history of the Tongass (the traditional territory of the Tlingit) to his own journey through life – and the struggles of his people for equal rights. 

(The accompanying photo was taken at a Portland demonstration to remove dams from the Klamath River, which flows through Southern Oregon and Northern California. Thanks to Patrick McCully, via flickr.)

The Taku River valley is one of BC’s crown jewels. It’s 4.5 million acres of forest tucked up in the northwest corner of the province. It’s also the home of the Taku Tlingit nation, who have a vision of how to manage the land for future generations. Now they’re sitting down with the province to hammer out a plan. The Prince Rupert Daily News has the story.

Like Clayoquot Sound and the Great Bear Rainforest, the Taku project is the result of different people sitting down and working together on a solution. BC is a global leader in conservation success stories. And the key is collaboration among native people, government officials, conservationists, and businessmen. That ain’t easy. 

Check out the Taku Tlingit’s land-use vision here (PDF). And a fantastic map of the conservation plan here (PDF). The Taku Tlingit worked with Round River Conservation Studies to create the report. (Round River also drafted the conservation plan for the Great Bear Rainforest several years ago.)