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Follow up to the award-winning Eyewitness Video series.

Eyewitness is a compelling video series featuring wonders of nature. Viewers will journey into a three-dimensional "virtual museum" where live-action photography creates the sensation of being there. Eyewitness presents a completely different view of the marvels and mysteries of the natural world as they have never been seen before. Spectacular wildlife footage from all over the world takes the viewer to hundreds of places -- without leaving the comfort of home. ... Read more

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educational and interesting
My nine year old son spends hours reading this book.He has several from the Eyewitness series.The pictures are detailed and the written passages are packed with very interesting information.They are definitely for a more advanced reader or to read to your children.I'm learning from the books as well. ... Read more

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Study a water snake's skin and a crayfish's claws.Find out how a brown rat swims and why turtles have long necks. ... Read more

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Earth's fresh water--lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds--are teeming with plant and animal life. Find out about this delicately balanced ecosystem.

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"Fundamentally, the salmon's decline has been the consequence of a vision based on flawed assumptions and unchallenged myths.... We assumed we could control the biological productivity of salmon and 'improve' upon natural processes that we didn't even try to understand. We assumed we could have salmon without rivers." -from the introductio.

From a mountain top where an eagle carries a salmon carcass to feed its young to the distant oceanic waters of the California current and the Alaskan Gyre, salmon have penetrated the Northwest to an extent unmatched by any other animal. Since the turn of the twentieth century, the natural productivity of salmon in Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho has declined by eighty percent. The decline of Pacific salmon to the brink of extinction is a clear sign of serious problems in the region.

In Salmon Without Rivers, fisheries biologist Jim Lichatowich offers an eye-opening look at the roots and evolution of the salmon crisis in the Pacific Northwest. He describes the multitude of factors over the past century and a half that have led to the salmon's decline, and examines in depth the abject failure of restoration efforts that have focused almost exclusively on hatcheries to return salmon stocks to healthy levels without addressing the underlying causes of the decline. The book:

• describes the evolutionary history of the salmon along with the geologic history of the Pacific Northwest over the past 40 million years
• considers the indigenous cultures of the region, and the emergence of salmon-based economies that survived for thousands of years
• examines the rapid transformation of the region following the arrival of Europeans
• presents the history of efforts to protect and restore the salmon
• offers a critical assessment of why restoration efforts have failed.

Throughout, Lichatowich argues that the dominant worldview of our society-a worldview that denies connections between humans and the natural world-has created the conflict and controversy that characterize the recent history of salmon; unless that worldview is challenged and changed, there is little hope for recovery. Salmon Without Rivers exposes the myths that have guided recent human-salmon interactions. It clearly explains the difficult choices facing the citizens of the region, and provides unique insight into one of the most tragic chapters in our nation's environmental history.Amazon.com Review
The image of salmon battling upstream through whitewatercataracts to spawn in their birthplace is integral to any happy visionof the Pacific Northwest. Sadly, because they face more insidiousobstacles than swift currents, few people today actually witness thisremarkable spectacle.Armed with exhaustive research and an abilityto synthesize his findings into a concise, readable indictment of thestatus quo, Jim Lichatowich, a fisheries scientist for 30 years,traces the sudden decline of Northwest salmon populations followingthe onset of Euro-American settlement. He points a finger at the usualsuspects: logging, mining, damming, grazing, irrigation, commercialfishing, and development. Moreover, he cites the politicalestablishment for a failure of nerve. Since the shift from a NativeAmerican "gift" economy based on sustainability to a profit economybased on self-interest and short-term financial gain, the historicallyresilient salmon have met one adversary after another, with little orno help from the legal apparatus charged with their protection. Infact, federal and state governments have responded to the deepeningcrisis mainly by building fish hatcheries up and down the WestCoast. Contrary to the beliefs of entrenched bureaucrats and sportfishermen, says Lichatowich, hatcheries have merely diluted the genepools of wild stocks while allowing resource extractors to continuetheir multifarious operations and politicians to shirk theirresponsibilities. In 1960, for instance, after decades of decliningruns, the Washington Department of Fisheries reported, incredibly (andcharacteristically), that new advanced management techniques wouldsoon result in "salmon without a river"--more welcome news to thosewho would continue to exploit these iconic fish and their habitat. Atthe dawn of the 21st century hundreds of hatcheries still operate, yetNorthwest salmon populations have decreased 95 percent.

Lichatowich is a learned and persuasive advocate for wild salmon. He'salso eloquent, as in this description of his first visit to theColumbia River's Grand Coulee dam:

As I sat therewondering and swatting mosquitoes, the face of the dam lit up. It wasthe start of the nightly laser show.... Appropriately, the lasers senta series of large green dollar signs floating through thedarkness. Then a series of laser salmon swam across the face of thedam.Here were the ideal salmon, I thought, the fish that fitperfectly into our worldview. We have complete control overthem--press a button and they appear; press another and they changefrom green to red; press another and they swim over the dam. Salmonand dams are compatible--as long as you are not particular about thekind of salmon.

Customer Reviews (13)

never received book
Never received the book or an appology from the seller (did get a full refund).

An important book on the destruction of salmon
Lichatowich is a fisheries biologist who sees the big picture.In this book he provides a comprehensive history of Pacific Northwest salmon and their destruction by Euro-Americans.

The story begins with the evolution of salmon.Lichatowich argues that the evolutionarily significant units are not just breeds of each species but the individual runs of each bread - - fall Chinook on the Klamath, and so on.This is a critical distinction when the story turns to humans.Americans have tried to mitigate the damage they cause by building salmon hatcheries.These hatcheries are managed by overly optimistic fish biologists transferring salmon fry from different runs among streams.The salmon's biological clocks are out of sync with their new homes, since each run has evolved for the water levels and variation in food abundance of their original homes.

And how have we destroyed the salmon?It's popular to blame the dams, but Lichatowich points at all the other culprits.Habitat destruction by livestock grazers, stream destruction by loggers, overfishing by the salmon industry, and the willful ignorance of science by everyone.We have converted rivers and watersheds into factories for electricity, lumber, and cattle.Hatchery management is a poor substitute, it's trying to have salmon without rivers.It's hardly surprising that the fish have died.

If you want to understand the challenge facing Northwest salmon, this is the right place to start.Enjoy these remarkable fish while you can because they won't be around for your grandchildren.

Salmon without Rivers
Clearly the best source for the decline of Northwest anadramous fisheries.If readers want the truth, the bottomline, on the disastrous condition of those fish runs, this is the book to read.

Peter Morrison
This is a must read book for anyone interested in salmon, rivers and the ecology and history of the Pacific Northwest.Excellent information and a good read.

Great read
This is an excellent book that documents the history of salmon, how native Americans viewed them and how modern Americans view them.It focuses on why the pacific northwest is facing a salmon crisis, and our failed attempts to replace what we have lost.Great read for anyone who is concerned about environmental issues. ... Read more

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How to best manage the oceans' resources and prevent their environmental degradation is a complex challenge requiring the cooperative efforts of the world's nations. (20020801) ... Read more

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The social, economic and environmental impacts of natural resource use and management have enormous effect on our future sustainability. The situation faced by the Murray-Darling Basin in south-eastern Australia provides a powerful example of these issues.

The future of this region and the livelihood of a large section of rural Australia are both threatened because of the unexpected consequences of water use and land clearing. The aim of Uncharted Waters is to stimulate public discussion on the long-term future of natural resource management in the Basin.

This provocative book presents a wide range of views and solutions from leaders in many fields and expresses the interests of the people in the Basin. The lavish design and illustrations provide a stunning backdrop for the stories that the contributors have to tell. ... Read more

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Welcome to the Nile River in Egypt! As you slosh through the river bank and puddle-jump the marshy areas, you can hear birds calling, frogs peeping and little scurrying sounds from the underbrush. The Nile River is full of life, from Egyptian vultures snatching ostrich eggs to golden jackals gnawing on a dead rabbit. Day and night in the Nile River delta, the hunt is on to find food - and to avoid becoming someone else's next meal. All the living things are connected to one another in a food chain, from animal to animal, animal to plant, plant to insect, and insect to animal. What path will you take to follow the food chain through the river delta? Will you . . . Swoop through the air with an Egyptian slit-faced bat hunting insects? Stalk for frog dinner through thick reeds with a swamp cat? Scavenge for road kill with a striped hyena? Follow all three chains and many more on this who-eats-what adventure! ... Read more

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These instructive books welcome young readers into the fascinating world of Earth's creatures and explore the marvels of the nature.Habitats, eating habits, size, and how natural phenomena occur are just a few of the topics discussed in the "Learn About Nature" series.Illustrated in full-color throughout. ... Read more

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The Two-Can Discovery Guides series is a fantastic way to discover the worlds of history, nature and science. The book is filled with activities that challenge kids to try out ideas for themselves. Quiz questions encourage kids to look closely at each page, and this series is perfect for either home or school use. ... Read more

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Ocean Worlds:Dolphins
This book is great for any child that loves animals.It is very factual and well written! ... Read more

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Contents include: What makes water a river? Why are rivers important? What's green and growing along a river? What animals live in and around a river? What's for dinner at the river? How do river animals get food? How do rivers affect people? How do people

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One of a series of titles which explore the intricate feeding systems of the world's key environments. ... Read more

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‘River Explorer’ will give you the answers to these and many other questions: How does a river begin? Do river plants and animals depend on each other to survive? How does pollution affect a river?

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