ACME, Wash. — The Nooksack River is a popular summertime swimming spot.
It's also a critical salmon habitat.
Now, Whatcom County is banning tubing on the river and the ripple effects could be severe.
The Acme General Store has operated along the Nooksack for 125 years. It's one of just two businesses in the tiny town of Acme, and owner Jacki Rossing fears the store won't see year 126.
"It's gonna be devastating," says Rossing, whose grandson is hoping to buy the store and keep it in the family.
The Nooksack is a wellspring for the town. Tourists and townspeople flock to the river every summer, often stopping at the store to buy food, drinks and supplies.
With a tubing ban going into effect, Rossing fears business will completely dry up.
"It has a huge impact on us," she said. "Increased revenue from the recreation in the summer gets us and the diner next door through the winters. And the winters can be bleak."
Effective July 25, the Whatcom County Council approved a ban on inner tubes and all floatation devices on the river between June 1 and October 1.
The ban will remain in effect until chinook salmon levels reach 50% of their recovery goal of 9,900 fish.
Biologists with the Nooksack Tribe believe tubers put additional stress on salmon that are already struggling to spawn in warming waters.
Acme Diner owner Kim Cochran agrees we have to save salmon, but wonders, at what cost?
"We are the heart of this small town," Cochran says. "We are the last of a dying breed, and this could kill us."
"I know it's difficult. We sympathize," says Ned Currence, natural resources director for the Nooksack Tribe.
Currence says the chinook salmon population is only about 2% of its historical high of 20,000 in 1895, and large numbers of people playing in the water will keep that number down.
"Salmon don't like warm water and the hotter the day, the worse the situation is because that's when the fish are the most stressed, and there are more people causing more disturbances on those hotter days," says Currence.
He reminds us that stressed-dying salmon mean stressed-dying orcas.
"Salmon are critical for orcas," Currence said. "Orcas are endangered whereas chinook are just threatened."
Rossing believes there are much bigger issues for salmon on the river other than tubing.
She contends sediment making its way downstream is a far more serious problem as it fills riverbeds and makes the water shallower and warmer.
"They need to dredge the river," Rossing says. "They've known that for years."
Meantime, those trying to make a living along the river are left looking for a new revenue stream.
"We're scrambling right now," Rossing said.