President Trump has signed into law legislation allowing tribal managers and government fish managers to kill limited numbers of sea lions in the Columbia River to improve the survival of endangered salmon and steelhead populations.
The bipartisan legislation brought by lawmakers from Idaho, Washington, and Oregon passed both the House and Senate earlier this year. Under the bill, designated officials would be able to remove some California and Stellar sea lions from specific areas where they are posing the most harm to endangered native fish runs, including at Bonneville Dam.
Scientists have documented that sea lions eat an average of about 20 percent of the spring chinook run in the lower Columbia each year, a figure that has climbed to as high as 43 percent. (Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, Lewiston Tribune)
