Many reports about declining salmon numbers were published in the 1800s. One was Marshall McDonald’s 1894 report, titled “The Salmon Fisheries of the Columbia River Basin, Report of the United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries on Investigations in the Columbia River Basin In Regard to the Salmon Fisheries.” It states that “the investigations made by Professor Evermann and the parties under his direction establish conclusively the fact that there has been a very great reduction in the number of salmon frequenting the headwaters of the Columbia River and its tributaries.”
Also, that “they were abundant in the Columbia River at Kettle Falls as late as 1878. Since then there has been a great decrease. They have been scarce since 1882. Since 1890 there have been scarcely any at Kettle Falls.”
Also, that “there is no reason to doubt — indeed the fact is beyond question — the number of salmon now reaching the headwaters of streams in the Columbia River Basin is insignificant in comparison with the number which some years ago annually visited and spawned in these waters.”
These statements were made long before the Lower Snake River dams existed.
