One Protected Animal Killing another Protected Animal
Apparently the endangered California Sea Lion are eating to possible extinction the winter steelhead trout, another endangered species.
The environmentalist heads must be reeling.
The Oregonian newspaper is reporting that these California Sea Lions in Oregon are hanging around Oregon’s largest waterfall waiting for the trout to swim upstream to their spawning grounds and just having a feast.
The Organ Department of Game and Fish has determined that there is an 89% chance of extinction for the Willamette Falls trout population if the federal government doesn’t intervene.
Now what are they attempting to do to stop this?
Well two members of Congress are pushing for legislation that would allow Oregon and Washington state officials as well as regional tribes the authority to hunt and kill the endangered California Sea Lions to save the endangered winter steelhead trout.
Seems they are in a pickle, if they hunt and kill the California Sea Lions might that also push the Sea Lions to extinction?
An Oregon senior fish policy advisor is quoted in the article stating:
“It’s pretty dire, If we don’t deal with this near-term risk, there might not be fish.”
The numbers are concerning, in 2017, they believe just 512 native steelhead made it past the falls on their journey to their spawning grounds. That's the lowest winter steelhead run ever recorded, according to Clements.
The numbers in the early 2000’s where closer 15,000.