Blog Archive

Thanks to Palmer restaurant, Turkey Red, and its expert chefs who prepared hundreds of tasty Bristol Bay salmon morsels yesterday at the Alaska State Fair. Scores of fairgoers gobbled them up as they learned about the serious environmental threats to the salmon from the proposed Pebble mine and what they can do to help protect the bay.

Longtime Seattle P.I. columnist Joel Connelly recently spent some time in Bristol Bay learning about the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine. Like many Alaskans, Connelly came away from his trip wondering why anyone would even consider building a massive metallic sulfide mine upstream from the world's largest wild sockeye salmon run. His column is really worth a read. Check it out.

Visitors to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer should plan to stop by Trout Unlimited Alaska’s Savor Bristol Bay event on Sunday during the fair’s “Wild Salmon Day.” From 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. we’ll be handing out tasty grilled salmon bites, expertly prepared by Chef Jerry Duran of Turkey Red, one of Palmer’s best known restaurants.

In this guest blog post, Anchorage resident and Trout Unlimited organizer, Melanie Brown, reflects on her recently completed commercial fishing season with her family in Bristol Bay:

Another season in Bristol Bay has come and gone. Another year of the tides replacing the time of the clock. Ebb and flow, in and out, breathe, pulse, set, pull, and pick. Elemental strength of nature harnessed within the objects of our harvest. They come in droves and sometimes it seems as if they are driving the tide instead of riding it in to their river of origin.

 Nelli Williams, Trout Unlimited Alaska’s Special Project Coordinator, recently spent a week on the Nushagak River, Alaska’ premier king salmon river. She helped run a fly fishing academy for Alaska Native youth from the Bristol Bay region. The idea behind the academy, sponsored in part by TU, is to train the next generation of fly fishing guides who can work at local lodges in Bristol Bay and become conservation advocates for this very special but very threatened swath of Southwest Alaska. Here is her account of her week on the “Nush:”

Food blogger and author, Laurie Constantino, posted an item about our Savor Bristol Bay event at the Spenard Farmers' Market this past weekend. She adapted for home use the Bristol Bay salmon recipe created by Bear Tooth Grill Executive Chef Clayton who volunteered his expert cooking skills for the event. Read the post here.
(Photo of Clayton Jones by Lauri Constantino)

Paul Greenberg's new book, "Four Fish: The Future of Last Wild Food," is a must-read for anyone interested in wild salmon, or, as the title indicates, the future of fish and other wild food in general. The book garnered a positive review in the New York Times on Sunday. In an interview with the Oregonian today, Greenberg mentions Bristol Bay salmon and the proposed Pebble mine.

Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador, Alaska, Bristol Bay, Pebble Mine, Salmon

A little over a year ago the Pebble Pedalers, a two-man team of conservation-minded cyclists, left Alaska on a 17,000-mile journey to raise awareness of and garner support for protecting the Bristol Bay watershed from the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine. Their journey is also a fundraiser for Trout Unlimited Alaska's efforts to stop this high-risk mine project and protect Bristol Bay, which produces the world's largest wild sockeye salmon run.

The nation's top environmental official heard blistering opposition to the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine on Wednesday during a public meeting in Dillingham. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson listened to dozens of residents of Bristol Bay communities during a meeting at the Dillingham Middle School. The message they delivered was loud and clear: most Bristol Bay residents don't want the EPA to allow the Pebble mine to go forward because of the high risks it poses to the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery.

One of world's top experts in river ecology, who began his professional career in the Nushagak River drainage, has published an opinion piece that refutes some of the more outlandish claims made recently by the Pebble Limited Partnership. Among other things, PLP executives have actually stated in public forums of late that the giant copper and gold deposit they want to develop is NOT located in the headwaters of Bristol Bay.