Why is President Biden failing to help the Pacific salmon?
I am writing to you because I am concerned about proposals from the White House and Democrats in Congress to increase annual immigration. These misguided policies would further accelerate our nation’s population growth. This is a critically important fact considering America is inexorably losing its natural areas for supporting a wide array of wildlife.
The iconic Pacific salmon serves as a tragic example, as featured in a recent New York Times article, Northwest’s Salmon Population May Be Running Out of Time
(1/20/21). The article describes how population growth has brought several species of salmon to the brink of extinction — sockeye, coho, chinook, and Atlantic. One of the largest factors inhibiting salmon recovery is habitat loss … A growing human population has led to development along the shoreline … where salmon generally find insects and other food.
Also, countless salmon are poisoned and killed by toxic stormwater running off ubiquitous roads and parking lots and into their aquatic habitat. Adding insult to injury, there also are tens of thousands of migration barriers — including dams, perched culverts, and water storage structures — peppered throughout the Pacific Northwest to accommodate America’s population growth.
The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that, at today’s growth rate, America’s population will reach 404 million in 40 years, and more than 90% of this increase will be from immigration. To reduce population pressures on our wildlife and wilderness, please take a stand against proposals to increase immigration. Indeed, if you care about protecting hundreds of rare and endangered species across our nation, urge Congress to pass immigration legislation that would lower America’s rapid population growth.
Greg Raven, Apple Valley, CA
