(serene guitar music)
- [Chris Voiceover] The Salish Sea,
this world-famous waterway,
a system of interconnected marine ecosystems
and its web of upstream links to rivers,
forest, mountains, and glaciers,
sustains a huge abundance of life;
not only the creatures of the sea, air, and land,
but us, too, the people who live here.
(mellow guitar music)
My name is Chris Morgan.
As a wildlife ecologist, filmmaker,
and host of the podcast, The Wild,
I'm endlessly curious about life in our region
and the mysteries of how it all fits together.
(bright music)
(soft pensive music)
Believe it or not, this tree
is actually part salmon.
No, really.
Nitrogen from salmon can actually
be found in all these trees.
Salmon have had an enormous influence
on how the Pacific Northwest itself has taken shape.
They've been swimming alongside the creatures of this area,
and the many native First Nation and Coast Salish tribes
for tens of thousands of years.
Now, right here in the wild,
you would expect the salmon to be fighting
their way upstream to spawn a new generation.
But what about right in the middle of our cities?
(pensive piano music)
Today, I'm going to meet up with Sienna
and her mum, Stephanie, along the Cedar River.
As a scientist and an Ojibwe woman,
a member of a Native American tribe,
Stephanie Blair is working on cutting edge research
to help us understand what these incredible animals face.
Hi.
- Hello. - Stephanie, it's so nice
to be here with you.
- Yeah, pleased to meet you, too.
- Home of the salmon.
And you must be Sienna. - Uh-huh.
- Hi, I'm Chris. - Hi, Chris.
- What a beautiful spot. - It is, so beautiful.
- Kind of place where you're working all the time, hey?
- Yeah, well, this is my inspiration, being out here.
- Yeah, and what is it about a place like this
that inspires you?
- Salmon have always been a sacred food,
a teacher for people since time immemorial.
They have stories to tell us.
They have a lot to teach us
about how we can live a life
that's more in connection,
in relationship with the natural world.
And people are realizing how those connections
not only make us healthier,
but they improve our mental and our spiritual,
and emotional connections to the world around us.
- They're like these icon, aren't they,
that sort of represents, ties all those things together?
And what kind of work have you been doing?
I know you've been doing some amazing research
on salmon and where humans can affect them.
What have you been revealing?
- So I'm part of a lab, a salmon toxicology lab,
that studies the effects of urban stormwater runoff
on Pacific salmon, and coho salmon in particular.
- First of all, what is storm drain runoff?
- Stormwater runoff is the most important source
of pollutants in the Puget Sound.
So, all of our daily activities
that we don't even think about
when we're driving down the roads,
when we're fertilizing our lawns,
it leeches lots of contaminants
that are in the manufactured materials
and chemicals that make our daily lives possible.
And all of that is carried by the rainfall
through stormwater runoff, and ends up
into urban streams and creeks,
and rivers, such as this one.
- [Chris] Hidden dangers kind of thing, is it?
- The hidden dangers, yes, so we've known for decades
that stormwater pollutants have been causing
recurrent die-off events of coho salmon
in urban streams throughout the Seattle area.
So, coho salmon are a indicator species
that are really pointing out this larger problem.
- So these salmon let you study something important
that affects their survival, but it seems like
there's more than science to it for you, right?
And then, you're probably thinking about
the next generation a lot as well, hey.
- Yeah, exactly.
We all value our children.
We all value future generations.
And I think that as human beings,
we definitely have a sense of that connection,
no matter where we live,
whether we live in the city,
or we live in more rural environments,
and we all want to do something about this problem.
And really, it comes down to rethinking the way
that we build our infrastructures,
rethinking the way that we go about our daily lives,
in a way that respects our relationship with water
and respects how water is a necessity,
not just for us, but for all life,
for all species, including salmon.
Makes me feel hopeful.
- How about skipping rocks, Sienna?
Water is life.
Stephanie's hoodie said it all.
And it's the water quality that's essential for all of us
as it percolates through the Salish Sea ecosystem.
Now, just try to picture how far the salmon travel.
Here I thought my commute was tough.
And can you imagine doing this journey upstream
through the Ballard Locks, while pregnant?
Aside from the salmon, nobody knows this journey
better than Charlotte Spang,
the Seattle Aquarium's field outreach coordinator
and manager of the Cedar River Salmon Journey,
a volunteer program educating people
on how they can make a difference for salmon,
so they can survive and hopefully thrive.
(mellow music)
Hi, Charlotte. - Hi.
- It's amazing. - I know.
Isn't it incredible? - Yeah, I was paddling
above these guys a moment ago.
Now we come down here and see them like this.
It's just, it's magical.
- I know, it really is magical.
These fish are the most amazing species I can think of.
We are so fortunate to live in this urban area
where we get to share our watershed with this wild species
that inhabit so many different places.
- I do love this concept of, you know,
we're not in the wilderness, we're in the city,
and people are missing out in a city like Seattle
if they don't know that this world exists.
- Oh, completely.
We are here because of them.
People live here because of salmon.
And have lived here for time immemorial because of salmon.
We can see them here in the locks as they're returning,
but in the fall, many of our streams and rivers
all around Puget Sound have salmon returning,
and you can go see them yourself then.
It's just an incredible way to connect
to this thing that's bigger [than] yourself.
- It's magic, isn't it? - Yes.
- You know, it's something mysterious
and wonderful about it that we're all a part of.
Look, you and your team are amazing
at conveying how special these salmon are,
but then how do you convey what people should do and can do?
- So I see hope because I see that there are things
that we can all do individually.
If you happen to own a car,
taking your car to a commercial car wash
is a way- - Instead of washing it-
- Instead of washing it in the driveway or on the streets.
Yes, exactly.
And collectively, supporting government efforts
to help salmon
that will have a positive benefit on these fish,
who, frankly, we all depend on, right?
We need these fish.
Many of us love eating salmon.
That's like an iconic thing we'd all do here
in the Pacific Northwest.
Sorry, I'm getting choked up.
- No, no, it's fine, yeah.
Can I give you a big hug now?
- Yes. (both laugh)
- That was so, so wonderful.
And that was awesome.
As I put in my kayak and paddle out,
I think about the salmon
and what they mean to us as a city, as a community,
and what they mean to the Coast Salish people
whose lives and culture have been shaped by salmon
for tens of thousands of years.
We can't take the salmon for granted.
They've shaped us,
and they have shaped this Salish Sea watershed,
and they need our attention.
We know what's good for salmon is good for us.
I know it can seem overwhelming,
but if experts like Stephanie and Charlotte
believe in their resilience, I do, too.
I also believe in us.
We can do this.
We can make small changes to our lifestyle,
rethink our relationship with water,
and together, push as a society
for the big changes we all need
for salmon and humans alike.
And perhaps the salmon in this city
are the key to that connection.
After all, water is life.
(bright upbeat music)