Driving Toward Salmon Recovery
The family car may not look much like salmon habitat, but there
is an intimate connection between the way we use our automobiles
and the safety of the rivers as a highway for fish.
Oil is a major environmental pollutant. One quart of motor oil
is enough to contaminate 250,000 gallons of water, yet Americans
annually dump a third of a billion gallons of used motor oil into
the environment. What's more, 21 million pounds of antifreeze,
extremely toxic to fish and other organisms, are allowed to pollute
our lands and waters each year. Additionally, millions of pounds
of lead and other heavy metals, oil, and rubber deposited on the
roads gets washed down storm drains and into our streams. Given
that toxins in the water can affect the reproductive health, growth
and survival of fish, the link between the road and the river
is all too strong. (And this says nothing about the impact of
drilling for oil, or the effects of oil spills).
Roads can also have a direct impact on salmon. Road-building
and maintenance can result in the filling or alteration of wetlands
and other flood-plain areas that provide important salmon habitat.
Road building and maintenance can result in the removal of streamside
vegetation that provides necessary shade and nutrients for fish.
Herbicides used to kill roadside weeds can also harm fish if
they get into nearby waterways. Both road construction and off-road-vehicle
use can destroy soil cover and add to erosion. Excess sediment
in the creeks can clog the gravel beds where salmon spawn, impeding
the flow of oxygenated water that eggs need to survive.
The best way to keep oil and fuel residues out of the environment
is to reduce vehicle use in the first place. The next best step
is to use vehicles with maximum efficiency. Help the salmon by
taking the following route to cleaner rivers:
Walk or bicycle when possible and avoid unnecessary car trips
by consolidating errands.
Use mass transit where available or carpool as often as possible.
Drive the most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your needs,
and keep the engine tuned and the tires adequately inflated.
Recycle used motor oil; never dump it down a storm drain or onto
the land. Wipe up motor oil drips wherever they occur. Be sure
to recycle antifreeze, too; many auto shops will accept it.
Wash you car on the lawn, using non-toxic low phosphate cleansers.
A lawn benefits from the extra nutrients; a stream does not..
Use a shut-off nozzle on the hose, so as not to waste water.
For more information on what you can do at home to help salmon
recovery efforts in the Pacific Northwest, please contact your
local watershed restoration group, soil and water conservation
district, or Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, 45 SE
82nd Dr., Suite 100, Gladstone, OR 97027-2522.
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Revised 3/10/97
