the film forum library tutorial contact

Idaho Governor Releases 475 Salmon into High Mountain Lake by Associated Press KNDO / KNDU, September 13, 2006

REDFISH LAKE, Idaho - After an overnight flight from Seattle, 475 hatchery raised sockeye salmon dove into a picturesque Idaho mountain lake today in the hopes they'll swim back to the Pacific -- and someday fancy a return visit to Idaho.

Governor Jim Risch helped dump the big blue tubs of juvenile sockeye at Redfish Lake in the Idaho Sawtooths -- part of the state's effort to help the endangered fish recover.

The lake derives its name from the days when its waters were red with the brightly colored spawning salmon.

Bert Bowler of Idaho Rivers United applauded the state's work, but says the only way to ensure the sockeyes come back to Redfish is to remove four Lower Snake River dams that kill thousands of young fish as they migrate to the ocean.

Of the hundreds of sockeye planted in past years at Redfish, only three have returned this year.