Breaching dams to save Northwest orcas is contentious issue

[rwsanders]

3. Why not? Unless there are no salmon returning to the area, or if that species is extinct you might

be correct. Otherwise I'm not seeing how restoring habitat would not result in increased salmon.
Unless I'm wildly incorrect, I believe there were more salmon before the dams were built. The issue is that I doubt that the population would rebuild in time to help this resident pod of orcas.
While orcas range world wide, resident pods have not interbred with transient pods in over 100,000 years. They have their own distinct "language" and "culture". Resident pods only eat fish, while transients will attack other whales and other large marine mammals.
Preservation of the resident pods should be given a high priority. How would you approach preservation?