The $68,000 Fish is an excellent read in Harper's Magazine about the past and current state of the salmon population in the Pacific Northwest.
Much of the story describes the various means by which the economic and political interests of man ...
have damaged and almost destroyed the Pacific salmon runs in the Columbia River basin, as well as the almost futile and highly expensive measures that have been taken to try and revive the salmon population. Thankfully, the last portion of the story provides some optimism that the situation can be improved under the right circumstances.