Timber Wars Season 2: Salmon Wars

834

Salmon are essential to Columbia River tribal people. These fish represent not only a food source but a way of life. As a white kid growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Tony Schick heard a lot about salmon — how important they are to this region, and how much trouble they’re in now. But the history he learned was not the whole story. As an investigative reporter for OPB and ProPublica, he’s been working to uncover and understand a more sinister version of events. And along the way, he connected with a guy named Randy Settler and his family.

“Salmon Wars,” a production from OPB and ProPublica, tells the story of salmon in the Northwest in a way you haven’t heard before – through the voices of one Yakama Nation family  who have been fighting for salmon for generations. We’ll dive into hidden history. We’ll investigate who’s to blame for the salmon vanishing, and what can be done before it’s too late. 

 

Recent Episodes
Episodes loading...
Recent Reviews
  • PNW Nature Lover 🌲
    Phenomenal
    Well researched, beautifully narrated, even handed, taking great pains to highlight the views on both sides of this cultural & environmental milestone in American history.
  • Birdingandbushcraft
    Fantastic!
    Fantastic podcast. Very well researched and presented. I wish I’d known this about the area where I live and fish.
  • Jonbsan
    Loving the history
    Loving this series so far - we need more of this uncomfortable, clear eyed, fact based history so we can do better.
  • chanjames22
    Compelling and informative
    A well-conceived story detailing a political conflict that defines the PNW. The show attempts a comprehensive perspective that is empathetic to the major stakeholders and their deeply held beliefs. The trees are given their due, too. Which is important.
  • PinusGigantuous
    Great Podcast!
    This was something they never taught us when I was in school for forestry. Definitely is a topic that needs to be discussed and seen from different perspectives. I really enjoyed the collaboration between the different groups of people who have vastly different perspectives on things. I bing listened to this podcast in a night, it was fantastic!
  • ashay97
    Binged this in a day
    Great journalism and Investigation. Really informative deep dive in how all sides were affected. Well told
  • wcjnyc
    Really well-done series
    This is a great series on the timber wars between loggers in the Northwest and a bourgeoning environmental movement. Excellent journalism and super interesting. I learned a lot.
  • Lilywhite1882
    Loved to hear this story as an adult
    I was a child in the PNW when this all occurred, and remember snipets from the local broadcast media, and hearing about it fro my grandfather. Wonderful to learn about this in depth as an adult!
  • eugeneois
    If only there were more like this!
    I’ve waited 28 years for this. Moved to Oregon in 1996 and have wondered how all the pieces of logging, owls, clear cutting, salvage logging all fit together ever since. Really amazing and so thankful it exists. Kudos to all the hard work and excellent reporting - what we miss everywhere else!
  • C. Jolly
    A True Masterpiece
    Such a remarkable feat of well researched and impactful journalism coupled with beautifully orchestrated production and storytelling. However heartbreaking the history was at times, it was well balanced with inspiring accounts and figures that engage even the most jaded activist. I found myself completely in love with this podcast. Congratulations to the entire Timber Wars team, the world needs more people like you!
  • べーり・ミルナー
    A must listen!
    So informative and covered very important information. Especially as an Oregonian! Presented very well and it kept me invested. So refreshing to see a complex topic covered in a way that is fact-based and not politically slanted like everything else.
  • shgardens
    Fantastic
    I’m a young college student who lives in the east coast. I’ve never lived in the nw but this podcast was fascinating and did an amazing job of showing the environmental impact of logging and also the devastation of the logging communities
  • Maximusprimenumber
    Terrific
    Interesting commentary for all who lived in Oregon thirty years ago and live there now. Probably ought to be taught in elementary schools in the region.
  • hellodeb!
    Thought Provoking
    I’m about to teach on this topic to my 4th/5th graders. You’ve helped me understand the complexities of this problem and what I’ve heard and learned will help me complicate the thinking of my students. Yes, this is about a PNW issue AND it is about so much more. I now see how the strategies, politics and arguments directly mirror other issues and changes our country faces like social justice and racism. Change is hard abd we can help each other get there. I hope we can skip the divisive part and quickly get to seeing each other as humans and collaborate.
  • VMac100
    A must listen!
    Excellent in debts reporting- I was around at the time, but unaware of how it came to be.
  • Rossssssssseriously
    So well done.
    Love this. So informative. Can’t thanks y’all enough. Telling my friends.
  • Beerlyawake
    Important stuff!
    Great content!
  • Moptopmuz
    Has stayed with me long after I finished listening…
    Fascinating. The podcast peels back complicated layers to reveal the humanity behind the pacific NW. I often reflect on the stories and perspectives expertly told through this podcast. Well done.
  • Selway Ranger
    Powerful and nuanced
    I grew up during the timber wars and have long wished for this kind of story, which has been missing from nature writing. Acknowledging the human side of the timber industry doesn’t compromise the moral imperative to protect old growth. So many activists could learn from this approach.
  • Wavehaven
    Excellent!
    Well researched, presented in a very thorough way and easy to listen to. Excellent information on something that effects all of us in the west!
  • maverich9
    Oregon History
    A must listen for anyone living in Oregon.
  • Mooses123
    History I Lived Through
    I lived in a logging town during the spotted owl war. It was fascinating to hear all the behind the scenes stuff surrounding that war that I was not aware of.
  • Ken’s 3155
    Essential carbon sink
    This deeply researched series details the importance of the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. As the Amazon rain forests are destroyed, the “wet forests” of the Pacific Northwest are an even more essential carbon sink for the Earth.
  • Sam Koerber
    Couldn’t stop listening
    Five stars. This history is so relevant and left me with a better understanding of our current state. Fairly and honestly told. Thank you for the thought and work that went into this!
  • modest mediator and Buddhist
    Captivating!
    Fascinating story. Appreciated hearing all perspectives and getting a sense of the challenges and humanity of all against the backdrop of the urgency of preserving old growth forests.
  • Catalyst 1143
    Excellent Journalism
    A well told and unbiased series. Why we can’t use selective logging and spare the Old Growth escapes me. Oh, is it more work and more costly? Hmmm. Living in western Oregon I have seen clear cutting. What a terrible rape of the land. I have seen hundreds of log trucks lined up in Coos Bay, Oregon, waiting for their load of logs to be loaded onto a freighter to be sent to China to be processed into lumber and returned to the U. S. The only jobs benefitted are the loggers and the company executives.
  • Christianscience
    Sometimes a great notion...
    As a born and bred Oregonian, who’s family was in the timber industry it’s fascinating to relive the history. Really enjoying this podcast. The intro of the first episode did make me laugh out loud though, no hipster is elbow to elbow with loggers and is throwing a beer in their face!
  • Neempu
    Together
    About as objective and unbiased as coverage can get balancing both sides of a contentious story and presenting everyone as human. I also appreciated the highlighting how when we do listen and build strong relationships we can make the situation better. Thank you~*
  • Don'tThinkTwice
    Gripping and well researched.
    I loved this podcast!!! Couldn’t stop listening until I devoured every episode. The format was enjoyable to listen to and easy to follow. Not over-produced and proper but also not too much overly-personal journalist whispering emotionally into the microphone. Just good narration, interviews, and historical audio. It was clearly fact-driven with an emphasis on breaking down the events and cultural meaning related to forests and logging in the PNW. As a transplant to Oregon, I have wondered what was really going on with the logging industry and if we were doomed to lose the last ancient forests to the short-minded logging interests of our own federal government. I will echo another reviewer that Native American opinions are lacking in this story. Then end message of compromise and not hatred is one I wish we could all get behind.
  • gtyhnb
    Outstanding!
    This is a deeply person story as I live among the Douglas Firs and the Western Red Cedars of Forest Park in Portland. They are my shelter and I love each one. With my family, I have camped and hiked snd traveled in the Santiam Canyon countless among the giants which tower there. The devastating fire of September 2020 makes their preciousness that much more acute. Thank you for teaching me the history of the war which started just before I moved to Oregon, my forever home.
  • Achoo Jo
    Great series!
    There’s something about this story that I found super compelling, maybe the combination of an ongoing issue with the history of it, which creates a nostalgia. The attitudes of the sides in the battle seem safely couched in history, laid a bit bare by time, yet when I think about it, this is about change: in attitudes, in action, in policy. It runs through the present and heads off into the future. Great job!
  • kkathrynanna
    great show! well done!
    love this! I could have listened to this longer!
  • Anix.L.
    Who is missing?
    I’m enjoying this podcast but the absence of native voices is astounding. Where is any mention of indigenous ways of knowing about how the forest works? Why are there no indigenous activist perspectives? And how could you forget to discuss how these forests were stolen in the first place? If you’re going to reference the Oregon trail and the mythos of the white logger, please be clear about its genocidal impact on the people who have stewarded these forests with care for thousands of years. I really hope future episodes address this.
  • 11765534)(67$$)
    Probably the best podcast I’ve ever listened to
    Amazing
  • VX Nathaniel
    Save the trees!
    Super interesting, very well done investigative reporting. I’ll binging this series right now, and it’s incredibly easy to just keep listening. I wish learning was this fun and engaging when I was still in school.
  • Greenie 1954
    Great series
    Recommend
  • celiaf90
    Wish all podcasts were this good
    Balanced, well researched, good narration.
  • dromond
    History that shaped the PNW
    For someone who loves the northwest but didn’t grow up here I loved hearing a nuanced history of this conflict over the forest land.
  • knoes
    Well researched, interesting perspectives
    Such an important look at both sides of an issue. So often, we miss out on hearing from parties on both sides of any issue. I loved that this gave not only multiple perspectives but also a path forward. A great companion podcast to The Overstory (a great book) but also excellent as a stand-alone piece.
  • Alex W in PHX
    Highly recommend
    Great history on an important topic
  • grey Filastine
    Essential History Well Told
    The story it shares is very close to me, but you didn’t have to personally live these events to enjoy listening. It will take your mind away from today’s conflicts to reflect on an equally bitter struggle from the recent past, after the dust has settled and tempers calmed. Also, Timber Wars make for a great context companion to the brilliant fiction book The Understory.
  • Lisa.M.H.
    Informative, timely & surprisingly riveting
    See title :)
  • @Gaiapunk
    Conservationists of all stripes should hear this
    This series has been an amazing listen full of interesting elucidation on the most important conservation vs industry debate of the last 50 years.
  • Kjhcfyv
    Excellent!!
    History comes alive before your ears!
  • NDStew14
    Timber Tells a Big Story
    I really enjoyed Bundyville, and this series is the same high quality story-telling that touches on the class and culture wars capturing the country right now. The host tells a story that gives emotional weight to each side of the tale, being careful not to pass judgment prematurely. And like most things, even people that bring their own biases to their listening experience will see that the issue is more complex than it seems. Each side of the Timber Wars experiences real consequences of these battles. Keep an open mind and enjoy.
  • state radio
    Whitewashed
    Infuriated by the lack of indigenous perspective. The tag line might as well be “White guys ‘discover’ what indigenous people have known for 10,000 years, save a tiny amount of old growth from other white guys.”
  • sydbehr
    Excellent
    As a lifelong Oregonian I found this podcast very enlightening. It was balanced and well produced.
  • MickPicks
    Awesome
    Really really well done
  • felixkitty
    Explains much of the conflict we see in America today
    There are two sides to every story. What do you do when both sides are trying to protect something they care deeply about, but the objectives are in conflict. Very good reporting and storytelling.
  • Oregonian GE
    Essential history
    Essential history for any Pacific Northwesterner.
Similar Podcasts
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork on this page are property of the podcast owner, and not endorsed by UP.audio.