Thousands of spring chinook salmon are headed for the Columbia River, and California sea lions will be waiting for them at Bonneville Dam.

The sea lions have feasted on the salmon for the past few years, but the animals might pay a high price for easy meals this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is nearing a decision that would allow Washington, Oregon and Idaho to kill 30 sea lions that ignore firecrackers and rubber bullets to eat salmon.

The decision is due in mid- to late March, which is when the chinook run is predicted to hit high gear at the dam. The sea lions have an easy time catching salmon as they bunch up at the dam's fish ladders.

No one likes the idea of killing the sea lions, which have been protected under the federal Marine Mammal Act since 1972, but the animals are taking more of the chinook, which are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The sea lions, which killed an estimated minimum 4.2 percent of the salmon at Bonneville Dam last year, aren't the biggest reason why Columbia River runs are struggling — the many dams on the river and other human-caused problems kill most of the fish.

But state and tribal biologists say the sea lions are taking enough to hurt the recovery of salmon.

Click here to read the complete story in The Olympian.