The migration of the salmon is one of nature’s most dramatic and exciting journeys. We still do not know how they find the river where they were born to return to spawn. People from Alaska to southern California depend upon the annual salmon migration as an important food source. Salmon fishing provides tens of thousands of jobs in the sport and commercial fishing industries and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefit to the West Coast. Because salmon need pure, cold water, they are extremely vulnerable to water pollution and diversion. Twenty-seven West Coast salmon runs are endangered.