Bonneville Sea Lions

The Bonneville sea lions are national news again this year. An Associated Press story from March 8 was picked up in salmon-less places like Dallas, Texas, and Madison, Wisconsin. I think people are intrigued by the conundrum of endangered species vs. endangered species, or else they like to get worked up by the killing of sea lions, who are, arguably, the cutest of all predator species.

So far this year, at least eight sea lions have been killed at Bonneville Dam. The idea makes me feel kind of sick, especially after I went up there on Saturday and saw them for myself.

Bonneville Dam is a major source of power for the Northwest, and it’s also a minor tourist attraction, both for the dam itself and for the migrating salmon that you can watch through special underwater windows. For some reason, fish ladders have been deemed an edifying pastime for very young children. I was taken to several as a small child, and found them a real snooze. This weekend, my friend and I were surrounded by families with unimpressed little kids.

Watching the occasional Chinook struggle past the mossy window is a lot more interesting if you care about stuff like politics and sushi.

The kids would probably rather be watching the sea lions, but that is not encouraged. There is an informational plaque inside the visitor center, from which I learned that sea lions have always swum up the river to hunt, since long before there were dams. Somehow I had gotten the impression that this was a new thing — (“They learn,” said an Army Corps of Engineers biologist in the AP article.)

The visitor center is on an island. To the north is the main dam, all roaring water and billows of mist. To the south is a smaller dam, the locks, and a main entrance to the fish ladders. We walked a little ways down a mossy road on this side of the island, where the water is much calmer.

There we saw a little black head in the water, then two and three. Sometimes they would dive with a splash of their tail flippers. Sometimes they would just kind of splash around. They were too far away to get a good photo, or to tell if any of them caught a fish. Overall, there were between eight and ten in this area.

I couldn’t tell if they were Steller or California sea lions, although some of them were enormous. The smaller Stellers are endangered and only the California sea lions are being killed. The historic range of these sea lions is from Mexico to B.C., so I’m afraid the name California brands them unfairly as invaders.

After I came home from Bonneville, I read up a lot more on the sea lion issue, and found two things online that I want to mention.

First, there is an activist network dedicated to the Bonneville sea lions. The Portland branch of In Defense of Animals (famous for their foie gras and fur protests) is involved, and there is a Sea Lion Defense Brigade ( http://sealiondefensebrigade.org/) that has been monitoring the sea lions 24 hours a day from an RV on the Washington side of the river. They had a party this weekend and Tre Arrow provided musical entertainment… so somehow I feel like we’ll be hearing more from these folks in the future.

Second, in trying to find out who all was involved in the initial request to allow killing the sea lions, I came across the website of the Oregon Anglers (http://www.oregon-anglers.org/).

They sound like a reasonable bunch, at first: “Oregon Anglers was formed to find ways to meet the needs of both the state’s diverse wildlife, and the practical and economic needs of the communities that depend on the fishers and hunters.”

But scroll down to the part about sea lions, and they completely lose their cool:

“Since 1999 the California sea lions at Bonneville have had their way with spring salmon and steelhead runs. Now in 2009 they have arrived in even greater numbers.”

Then, in large, bold, underlined letters:

“Now we can begin to even the score!”

Had their way? Even the score? Sorry, Oregon Anglers, you just lost my sympathy.

One final note: Full Sail’s brewpub in Hood River has a nice view and great beer but it feels kind of corporate and the food is pretty expensive.