Pre-parade preparations included hours of staff and volunteer time creating giant paper mache salmon to dazzle parade goers with the beauty of the majestic sockeye.  We also made signs with messages such as “Keep It Wild” and “We Love Wild Salmon!”

Around 40 people came to march with us in the parade while thousands of people gathered on the streets of downtown Anchorage to watch the festivities.  We were lucky to have the heavy grey cloud cover lift unveiling a bright blue sky complimented with crisp cool air.  As we chanted “we love salmon yes we do, we love salmon how about you?” the crowd cheerfully responded, “We love wild salmon!”  Along with our giant, brightly colored red and green sockeyes, dancers twirled silky, blue ribbons to represent the beauty of the ocean waves. Other Alaskan animals joined our float including a black bear, moose, and an adorable mountain goat.

After the parade, participants gathered at the headquarters of the Renewable Resources Foundation to discuss issues Bristol Bay faces such as the proposed Pebble Mine and offshore oil & gas development in the North Aleutian Basin, as well as to eat some delicious Alaska salmon.  The grill master, Anders Gustafson, served volunteers salmon while the rest of us warmed up with a nice cup of hot cocoa and mingled with other salmon-loving folks.

For your viewing pleasure check out our photo album from the parade, WWF's  photo album, and this short video put together by RRF.

 If you haven’t had a chance yet, be sure to sign our open letter asking for permanent protection of Bristol Bay from offshore oil & gas development.

August 17, 2011

Salmonstock: 3 Days of Celebrating Wild Alaska Salmon

By Amy Snider, Program and Outreach Assistant

The first annual Salmonstock music festival was held in Ninilchik, Alaska August 5^th -7^th at the Kenai Fairgrounds. Southward bound from Anchorage, AMCC staff including myself, our intern Camrin Dengel, and Executive Director Kelly Harrell arrived at the festival on a clear, sunny day.  We were blessed by the picturesque view of three volcanoes -- Redoubt, Iliamna, and Augustine—rising up far across the blue waters of Cook Inlet. Aside from the stunning beauty of this region, the sight may have appeared like any other music festival. But once you make it past the field of tents and craft vendors, you realize it had a deeper purpose beyond entertainment. Sponsored and hosted by the Renewable Resources Foundation, the mission of Salmonstock is to celebrate and promote the health of Alaska’s wild salmon and to raise awareness about this valuable resource.

Festival activities included two stages of musical performances with over 35 acts by homegrown musicians such as Ratfish Wranglers, Seaside Farmers, and Pamyua. Event goers were also treated to national acts including Clinton Fearon, Bill Kreutzmann & the 7 Walkers, and Great American Taxi, many of who dedicated stage time and even entire numbers to sing about their love for and the plight of wild salmon.

Barn style buildings were decorated with the now seemingly classic “No Pebble” flags, along with handmade signs with clear messages:  “Trust Land Not the Man” or “Power to the People, Not Pebble.”  Buildings and fairgrounds were also decorated by the colorful salmon-themed paintings of Ray Troll, whose main stage art was auctioned off as a fundraiser on Sunday evening.

Along with some of the typical vendors one may normally find at a music festival such as face painting and tie dye apparel, Salmonstock featured non-profit organizations who are working on campaigns and issues surrounding salmon such as Cook Inletkeeper, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Alaska Center for the Environment, and of course the host organization, Renewable Resource Foundation.

Alaska Marine Conservation Council (AMCC) also had a colorful presence in the action center. Our featured issues to provide people the opportunity to take action to address threats to wild salmon included sign-on letters on genetically engineered salmon and bycatch. To spice up the fun, adventurous attendees could get their picture taken in our photo booth holding up handmade salmon and halibut cutouts featuring an “every fish counts” message and will be sent to the Commissioner of Fish and Game, Cora Campbell, to bolster State leadership in reducing bycatch.  Many of the folks that stopped by were from nearby Kenai Peninsula communities, but people from all over Alaska were present. They appreciated the information we had to share, and I had a great time talking to event goers about GE salmon, bycatch and the value of wild salmon. AMCC even had activities for the kids including a “frankenfish” coloring page designed by Yupik artist and activist Apayo Moore.

Highlights of the festival included the New Stuyahok Dancers from the Bristol Bay region who performed an invitational, asking audience members to join the dance, which was about hunting and eating squirrels. I also had the opportunity to participate in the human mosaic aerial art  including nearly 400 humans illustrating their love of wild salmon and their desire to protect this resource, and having the opportunity to talk with visitors about the threats to our wild salmon and what can be done to protect them!

Check out the pictures from our Reduce Bycatch photo booth 

August 1, 2011

A Week of Life and Fishing in Alaska’s Bristol Bay

By: Camrin Deneel, AMCC Conservation Intern

My latest excursion as a summer intern for Alaska Marine Conservation Council (AMCC) has been a week long trip to beautiful and bountiful Bristol Bay.  I headed to Naknek with AMCC’s Executive Director, Kelly Harrell, for some end of the season fishing, outreach, to spend time in the community and Fishtival!  We lucked out our first day in Bristol Bay with blue skies and sunshine as we joined the Stier brothers--Kelly and Kenyon-- aboard their boat the Cathryn Lee.  The glorious day afforded us the opportunity to catch a few hundred pounds of fish, to learn some of the ropes of salmon gillnetting and to see first hand the fast-paced fishery in action. Proving that Bristol Bay fishermen know how to have fun, Kenyon, the youngest Stier, took advantge of the great weather and slow fishing to do some wakeboarding behind the boat while our net soaked. The guys were wonderful hosts and kind enough to let us join in on their last day of fishing for the season.  To top the day off I was able to tag along on a bush plane ride with another fisherman and watch the sunset as the rivers and lakes below turned from a rich blue to a blazing orange in the setting sun’s light.

 The next few days were gray and rainy and full of visits with fishermen and locals in Naknek. Naknek is a small village in what appears to be the middle of nowhere yet is rich and full of adventure.  We got a tour of the Leader Creek fish processing plant, walked the beach to Pederson Point, cooked a few fishermen dinner, and helped prepare subsistence salmon.  In addition to this, we hosted an AMCC booth at the Fishtival held in Naknek over the weekend.  We sold t-shirts, signed up new Fish Basket Coalition members, talked with people from the Bristol Bay region, and collected signatures for our letter asking decision makers to permanently protect Bristol Bay from offshore oil drilling. 

 On our final day in Naknek, we splurged for a trip to Katmai National Park and Preserve to watch the famous brown bears that congregate here at Brooks Falls.  This was a spectacular experience and one I will never forget.  Within minutes of getting off the floatplane we were rushed out of the way of a bear making his way through camp.  It rained the whole day we were in Brooks Camp, but that didn’t stop us from taking a hike up Dumpling Mountain on a muddy, ungroomed trail.  Luckily we were rewarded and saw plenty of bears and I took plenty of photographs.

 It was amazing for me to get to spend time in the remote Bristol Bay region and converse with the people that call this area home.  I was constantly impressed with the work ethic of these men and women, and never tired of hearing their rich stories of this living, working and fishing amid this unique, wild salmon stronghold.

Check out a complete album of Camrin's trip photos on AMCC's Facebook.

July 19, 2011

Bristol Bay's Nushtival - A Community Celebration of Wild Alaskan Salmon

Nunamta Aulukestai’s 4^th annual Nushtival, named for the local Nushagak River, was held this past weekend, July 16^th and 17^th in Dillingham. Participants included Rebels to the Pebble, a grassroots youth education and advocacy group working to stop the Pebble Mine project.  Additionally, AMCC and the Fishbasket Coalition were there to share information about the status of potential offshore oil and gas drilling in the region, as well as to celebrate salmon with the community of Dillingham.

The first day of festivities brought sun, warm weather, and a variety of delicious salmon preparations during the salmon cook-off. Baked, grilled, pickled, fried, dried, smoked, raw, in tacos and in casseroles—from head to tail—no matter how it was prepared it-was all wild and all Alaskan! Other events included Fear Factor food challenge, and a community mural project that is a large painting made up of many small wood salmon painted by community members. Event goers were also treated to great music by Alaska’s number one tribal funk band, Pamyua.  With Sunday morning came cool winds and rain so we packed into the elementary school gymnasium playing a variety of fish-themed games.

 In the evening the clouds lifted unveiling a sunny blue sky giving me the chance to walk around downtown where the courthouse features a small wind turbine, which saves around $700 on electricity each month during winter. I also got to check out the University of Alaska’s Dillingham campus with a nice solar panel set-up.

 As I made my way out of downtown towards Snake River area, otherwise known as Nunavaugaluk, I was able to take in some of the beautiful local scenery including a series of large lakes, bogs, and tundra blanketed with wild flowers and herbs—the southwest flanks of the Alaska Range—an ecosystem flourishing with biodiversity and renowned for its world class wild salmon fishery.

Here’s to another year another year of celebrating the blessing of wild Alaska salmon!

Check out our Facebook page for a complete album of photos from this amazing event!

June 27, 2011

Alaskans Gathered at 'Hands Across the Sand' to Promote Protection of Our Coasts

Thousands of people gathered on U.S. beaches in the second annual "Hands Across the Sand" event promoting protection of our coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife and fisheries. This year joining the national movement, nearly 90 people gathered at Point Woronzof in Anchorage Saturday June 25^th to celebrate our coasts and Alaska’s world- class fisheries resources.

The Alaska Marine Conservation Council was there to raise awareness regarding the proposed lease for offshore oil development in Alaska’s world renowned Bristol Bay and gathered signatures from event goers who want to see Bristol Bay gain permanent protection. The festivities included gathering along the shoreline followed by a delicious salmon BBQ featuring Bristol Bay salmon.

The event originated in 2010, in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  The event quickly spread from a local to an international movement where over 1000 events took place worldwide. Locations included all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Additionally, events were held in 42 other countries.

In Alaska, “Hands Across the Sand” was sponsored by organizations including Alaska Marine Conservation Council, Alaska Center for the Environment, Alaska Youth for Environmental Action, Eyak Preservation Council, Alaska Wildlife Alliance, Alaska Women's Environmental Network, National Wildlife Federation, Alaska Wilderness League, Alaska Big Village Network, The Wilderness Society, and Sierra Club.

• Click here to learn more about offshore development in Bristol Bay or to take action at Fishbasket.org  
  

• Check out more images from this worldwide event