Terns hurt salmon recovery
Three or five years ago, in the prior activist round of trying to remove/bypass the Snake River dams, there were also reports on the activities of the Caspian terns and other birds at the mouth of the Columbia River, which devour thousands and thousands of salmon and steelhead smolts before they ever reach the ocean.
The terns (are they native to the region - their name suggests not) are a protected species, as are the salmon, so which is more important in deciding the trade-off?
Are there any current scientific studies on the current effects of the tern, which officials were trying without much success to relocate away from the river?
Keep up the good work.
Eric Johnson
Spokane