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Stop Sea Lion Killing Plan

Target: National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources
Sponsored by: Care2
The National Marine Fisheries Service recently authorized the killing of up to 85 federally protected sea lions this year at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River in Oregon.

Federal and state officials claim they have to kill sea lions to protect endangered salmon. But sea lions are not the main threat to endangered salmon on the Columbia river - dams, habitat loss and humans are.

Consider the facts:
  • Sea lions kill between 0.4% and 4.2% of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River each year;
  • Federal dams on the Snake River kill over 15% of returning steelhead and salmon adults each year;
  • Oregon and Washington states, which requested permission to kill sea lions, proposed increasing fishing quotas from 9% to 12% of the 2008 salmon run.
A federal judge is set to rule on this plan on May 8th, and until then no sea lions may be killed. Yet six federally protected sea lions were just found shot to death on the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam. Make sure no more sea lions die - tell NMFS to abandon its plan to allow killing of sea lions on the Columbia River!

Learn more from the Humane Society of the United States, Wild Fish Conservancy and Save Our Wild Salmon.
deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 10,000
 

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To Ms. Donna Darm,
Assistant Regional Administrator,
Protected Resources Division, NMFS

I just learned that six federally protected sea lions were found killed on the Columbia River even though a federal judge issued a stay of execution for sea lions with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I urge you to immediately repeal your agency's approval of a plan to kill up to 85 sea lions this year at Bonneville Dam.

Sea lions are not the primary cause of salmon decline in the Columbia River and Pacific Northwest. In fact, sea lions kill 4.2% or less of returning salmon and steelhead each year. Dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers kill over 15% of returning adult salmon and steelhead, and the incidental take allowance is currently 9%.
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Sincerely,
[Your name here]
We took action on “Stop Sea Lion Killing Plan”!
# 200:
6:49 am PDT, May 5, Ronald Shuey, Pennsylvania
# 199:
6:49 am PDT, May 5, Sandy Churney, Canada
I would like to know if the people responsible will be charged since these sea lions WERE federally protected. Or is this just ANOTHER example where your government will choose to turn a blind eye? Shameful !
# 198:
6:49 am PDT, May 5, Name not displayed, Missouri
# 197:
6:48 am PDT, May 5, W. Scott Meeks, Massachusetts
# 196:
6:48 am PDT, May 5, Gary Lefmann, Georgia
# 195:
6:48 am PDT, May 5, Cristina Seica, Portugal
# 194:
6:48 am PDT, May 5, Betty Unterbrink, Illinois
Blaming an animal over blaming ourselves is a devastating blow to the environment as a whole. The salmon and the sea lions existed well before we "conquered" this country
# 193:
6:47 am PDT, May 5, Erica Antonelli, Maryland
# 192:
6:46 am PDT, May 5, Rosemary Rowlands, New Jersey
# 191:
6:46 am PDT, May 5, Ellen Whitaker, North Carolina
# 190:
6:46 am PDT, May 5, Name not displayed, Indiana
Stop killing the sea lions is't there enoug killing going on that now they are taking it out on the sea lions that have just as much right to be here as we do.
# 189:
6:46 am PDT, May 5, Catherine Gibbs, Vermont
Please find a more humane solution. This is senseless killing.
# 188:
6:46 am PDT, May 5, Ronald Hammersley, Florida
# 187:
6:45 am PDT, May 5, Kathy Tharp, California
# 186:
6:45 am PDT, May 5, Kristi Clephane, Indiana
# 185:
6:45 am PDT, May 5, Tobilyn Byers, Pennsylvania
# 184:
6:45 am PDT, May 5, Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
# 183:
6:45 am PDT, May 5, Name not displayed, Illinois
# 182:
6:44 am PDT, May 5, Marc Tuton, Texas
This abomination is akin to "burning down the barn to get rid of the rats... How 'bout you fed. beaurocrats using your brains on this matter!!!
# 181:
6:44 am PDT, May 5, Karin Sahlman, Sweden
I just learned that six federally protected sea lions were found killed on the Columbia River even though a federal judge issued a stay of execution for sea lions with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I urge you to immediately REPEAL your agency's approval of a plan to kill up to 85 sea lions this year at Bonneville Dam. Sea lions are not the primary cause of salmon decline in the Columbia River and Pacific Northwest. In fact, sea lions kill 4.2% or less of returning salmon and steelhead each year. Dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers kill over 15% of returning adult salmon and steelhead, and the incidental take allowance is currently 9%.
# 180:
6:44 am PDT, May 5, William Brown, New York
# 179:
6:43 am PDT, May 5, Name not displayed, Tennessee
My family and I love to eat wild salmon. I am willing to cut down or do without if it would help to get the numbers up. But PLEASE don't kill the sea lions. They are part of the natural ecosystem. Look into the root of the problem. As I understand, dams and over fishing are a larger problem to the salmon.
# 178:
6:43 am PDT, May 5, Kay Vickers, New York
# 177:
6:43 am PDT, May 5, Anne Orth, Missouri
# 176:
6:42 am PDT, May 5, Tiffany Hebert, Louisiana
I think we, as people, do not have the right to destroy God's creatures. We were all placed on this planet to live together. If the slaughtering is not for survival (food) then these animals need to be left alone.
# 175:
6:42 am PDT, May 5, Melissa Prive, Vermont
# 174:
6:42 am PDT, May 5, Ustya Tarnawsky, New York
# 173:
6:42 am PDT, May 5, Peter Otto, Georgia
# 172:
6:42 am PDT, May 5, Melinda Henne, Maryland
# 171:
6:42 am PDT, May 5, Marilyn Burns, Indiana
Are you people insane?
# 170:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, David Fike, Kentucky
# 169:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, Marie Coyne, Pennsylvania
# 168:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, Michael Wakeman, Missouri
This is going to be known as a decade(much longer, actually) of destroyers. Shame
# 167:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, Joyce Hawes, Vermont
# 166:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, Ashley Golden, Indiana
# 165:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, Nancy Ruppert, Pennsylvania
How is it possible if an animal protected by our government is now being slaughtered in the Columbia River. This is ludicrous! Would not the same then apply to any protected species? If this is allowed to continue, where will it end. Please repeal this decision and let the sea lions live!
# 164:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, Sandra Stewart Kruger, Georgia
# 163:
6:41 am PDT, May 5, Karen Stillwell, Tennessee
# 162:
6:40 am PDT, May 5, Meredith Little, New Hampshire
We need to take into consideration the impact we as humans have on our planet. We do the most harm. Nature if left alone balances itself. We always seem to think we know best. We don't. God will take care of the salmon and sea lions. We need to stop the negative impact we humans have on our planet.
# 161:
6:40 am PDT, May 5, Maggie Goddard, Virgin Islands
# 160:
6:38 am PDT, May 5, Lindsey Tem, Pennsylvania
# 159:
6:37 am PDT, May 5, Rebecca Blunt, Pennsylvania
# 158:
6:37 am PDT, May 5, Annelie Rudlaff, Pennsylvania
It's just ridiculous. There is plenty to go around for everyone. Please get all the facts. It is unnecessary to kill the sea lions.
# 157:
6:37 am PDT, May 5, Brianne Schultz, Michigan
# 156:
6:37 am PDT, May 5, Krista & Eric Swager, West Virginia
# 155:
6:36 am PDT, May 5, Daniel Reid, Texas
# 154:
6:36 am PDT, May 5, Thomas Roberts, Maryland
NMFS: There simply has to be a better way of dealing with this situation other than killing. More research should be done in terms of their actual impact on the salmon, and possible relocation of these creatures where they may not be seen as such a threat to other wildlife. Respectfully, T. Roberts
# 153:
6:36 am PDT, May 5, Rosemary Xanthopoulos, Arizona
# 152:
6:36 am PDT, May 5, Dana Massa, Iowa
# 151:
6:36 am PDT, May 5, Cher Clarke, Canada
it's barbaric and cruel!
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