A century ago, fish traps were banned on the Columbia, blamed for decimating salmon & monopolizing harvest. Today, conservationists back the technique as a tool to help save salmon, but resurrecting it has dredged up its fraught history.
My latest for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
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Fish Traps Have Been Banned on the Columbia River for Nearly a Century. Could Bringing Them Back Help Save Salmon?
A new experiment is testing the commercial success of fish traps in Washington and Oregon. Even as some conservationists embrace the technique, its return has reopened old wounds among local fishers
