Anyone who’s spent any amount of time or effort in the fish conservation world has heard of the 4 Hs: habitat, hatcheries, hydropower and harvest. These are the underpinnings of wild salmon and steelhead conservation. What gets us into trouble, though, is when we separate out the four legs holding up the table, focusing on just a couple of the Hs, or worse, just one. A limited or singular focus makes that work, as with a table, much less likely to stand up over time.
Wherever possible, we should view the 4 Hs as a comprehensive, cohesive and holistic strategy for linking together the necessary elements of coldwater fish conservation. What we find when we’re able to do that is that the benefit to fish from multiple-H conservation action is not merely cumulative; it’s multiplied. Combine a hydropower project relicensing with better fish passage with a grassroots effort to restore riparian areas above the dam, for example, and the benefit is more than doubled. Add in updated practices at the local hatchery that minimize the effect on wild fish, and you’re talking conservation-cubed!
More and more, TU is seeking to combine and connect our different programs intended to conserve, protect and restore Pacific salmon and steelhead, be they habitat-, hydro-, harvest-, or hatchery-based. TU, by having active and aggressive programs in each of these areas, is uniquely positioned to effect real and lasting change, to the benefit of wild Pacific salmon and steelhead.
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