At Oregon Wild, I have learned more than I ever dreamed of knowing about fish. I’ve met wonderful people here, and have immersed myself in Portland’s rather unique culture. I’ve gone on some gorgeous hikes in Oregon National Forests and Wilderness areas, and have watched a senator perforate people verbally in a public forum. I’ve talked to people who think Oregon Wild is too liberal, or too conservative, or too focused on local issues, or too obsessed with the big picture. It’s been pretty wild.

My summer has been spent mostly working on projects based in the Klamath Basin. Jumping into an area with such a contentious history has been interesting, to say the least. The Basin is particularly fascinating because it’s kind of a microcosm of future water issues that will probably arise throughout the American West, not only pitting various interest groups against each other, but sometimes even forcing hard choices within the environmental community. While I spent most of my time working on salmon, I’m sympathetic to the needs of the lake-dwelling suckers and the Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuges, both of which use water that might otherwise go to salmon streams. Even so, I have to say that salmon – hardly the cuddliest of at-risk creatures – now hold a special place in my heart.

Everyone knows salmon travel hundreds of miles upstream to spawn, somehow finding the stream they spawned in, but many people don’t know that they use their sense of smell to get there. Apparently, to salmon, different streams smell different enough that they can tell one from another, and they find their way home just as I might find my way to a promising bagel shop. Many people also don’t realize that a salmon is basically a real life Spiderman, capable not only of impressive athleticism, but of producing a rather strong adhesive, while saving people’s lives.

OK, I suppose the comparison to Spiderman might be a bit of a stretch. But they are incredible creatures, and while Salmonman might not end up on the pages of a comic book anytime soon, salmon will, with the help of dedicated environmental groups like Oregon Wild, be gracing the dinner tables of bears, eagles, and humans for centuries to come...more, really, than can be said for any superhero.

It’s been a wonderful summer, and while I’d love to stay for at least another couple months, school beckons! I will hopefully be able to continue working on some environmental issues during the school year, as my school has a dedicated cadre of environmental law groupies. Even so, I don’t yet know that I’ll spend the rest of my life working in conservation. But I do know two things: conservation work is messy, complicated and challenging, and the people who do spend their lives working on it deserve major kudos. That, and in ten years I’m certain I'll still be waking up from dreams about sediment, and stream flows, and pesticides, and salmon.