Rep. Glusenkamp Perez explores lethal removal options for Columbia River sea lions
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Washington Rep. Marie Glusenkamp Perez wants to explore more lethal removal options for sea lions.
She joined a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing on Wednesday, where she questioned experts about strategies to remove the tens of thousands of sea lions she said have invaded the Columbia River.
“As the name implies, sea lions are a species that belong in the sea,” she told the committee. “Not in our rivers.”
But sea lions, increasingly, have made themselves at home in Pacific Northwest rivers. The issue began to escalate in the 1990s, when California and Stellar sea lions started hanging out around the Bonneville Dam and Willamette Falls, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/rep-glusenkamp-perez-explores-lethal-removal-options-for-columbia-river-sea-lions/ar-AA1ROiUC
I stayed in Astoria a few years back and many of the docks were taken over by the sea lions. Don't know if lethal removal is required however.