Salmon at the Crossroads

As our road show descended into the valley north of Mt. Shasta on our way home to Washington, we were reminded of the Klamath Basin and recent news of Vice President Dick Cheney's direct involvement in the Klamath disaster that led to a massive fish kill. In 2002, this river lost an estimated 70,000 salmon in one fell swoop.

Political maneuvering by this Administration around salmon issues is nothing new. While campaigning both in 2000 and 2004, President George W. Bush used the lower Snake River dams as a "wedge issue", dividing and instilling fear in local communities. Speaking at Ice Harbor dam in Eastern Washington in August of 2003, he said the four lower Snake River dams would never come down under his watch.

Bush might be right about this one. But we're not sure what he means by "his watch," when salmon in the Columbia-Snake basin have declined dramatically throughout his presidency. Regardless, for all of his Administration's suppression of science and manipulation of policy, the voices for lower Snake River dam removal are stronger than ever.

Continuing north on Interstate 5, we returned to Oregon and the district of Congressman Peter DeFazio. It was here, in Eugene and Coos Bay, that the Road Show kicked off a month ago. Rep. DeFazio is an interesting character in the evolving story salmon recovery in the Columbia-Snake Basin. While his work to protect salmon and salmon-dependent communities has been helpful to southern Oregon and northern California, he is actively working against any progress in the Columbia-Snake Basin. We can only surmise that he values his ties to river industrialists and the Bonneville Power Administration, a powerful utility, more than the communities of this region.

Call Congressman Peter DeFazio's: (202) 225-6416

Tell him to support real salmon recovery on the Snake and Columbia Rivers.
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-Bobby and Jeremy

Day 29: Capital City

There is no way to do full justice to the last formal day of this amazing journey, and it was with an appropriate sense of mixed sadness and excitement that we began this day. Excitement at the prospects of the creature comforts, relationships, routines, work, and community that we are to return to, but sadness at the giant fish and powerful outreach campaign that we leave behind.

We slept last night literally in the shadows of California's capital building in Sacramento. We awoke, not only with these mixed emotions, but also with a sense of awe at the massive power contained within this building’s walls. We can only hope that our work these past five weeks has created energy that will penetrate inside the walls of power that can aid us in our campaign to decommission the lower Snake River dams.

After adorning Fin with our signs for the last time, we met with the local CBS affiliate for an interview, and then headed to one last farmers market. We were met with the requisite funny looks and questions, but something just felt different. Each signature carried a little extra weight, each answer was imbued with a drop more pressure than normal, as we realized these were our last opportunities of the road show to spread our message.

But as we climbed into our rig and pointed our Salmon definitively north, we agreed that far from being an ending, this was only another beginning. The campaign does not end here, it will need your support more than ever to capitalize on this new ground swell of support and momentum.

Until tomorrow, please enjoy this retrospective of our travels, and watch as Fin travels over 3500 miles in just over one minute:



Jeremy and Bobby

Day 28: So long to the Silver State!

Before hitting the road on the Extinction Stops Here road show for salmon recovery this summer, we knew that we would be taking our time here in the Silver State.

Nevada's Senator, Majority Leader Harry Reid, is an important figure in shaping the future of our country, and that means he has an opportunity to help shape the future of salmon and salmon-dependent communities in the Northwest. We made sure to stop by Senator Reid’s office while in Reno, where we were joined by Andy Mitchell from Patagonia.

The Senator's Regional Representative, Matt Tuma, was there to greet us and talk about our campaign. We made sure to stress the importance of Senator Reid’s role in addressing the Columbia-Snake Basin salmon crisis and the opportunities, both economic and cultural, of restored salmon and steelhead on the Snake River.

Bobby with Matt Tuma and Andy Mitchell

Time is of the essence for these fish and the communities that depend on them. Each conversation we have with key leaders like Senator Reid can bring about positive steps towards real solutions for the Northwest and the nation. We need Senator Reid’s help now, more than ever!

Take Action: Send an email to Senator Reid here!

Or contact his office:

• Washington, D.C.: 202-224-3542
• Las Vegas: 702-388-5020
• Reno: 775-686-5750

Thank the Senator for his tireless efforts to conserve our wild lands and ensure the sound management of our natural resources, both in Nevada and across the country. With Senator Reid's leadership we can find solutions to the salmon crisis in Columbia & Snake Rivers.

Urge him to take a lead in solving the Northwest Salmon crisis that affects taxpayers across the country!

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On Monday, we bid farewell to the lovely state of Nevada, taking good memories and campaign momentum back to the Columbia & Snake Rivers.

We are now on our way to California’s capital city, Sacramento!

-Bobby, Jeremy, and Buddy

Special Edition: Reno 411

People keep asking for more information about the party that was thrown in our honor in Reno, so here is the dish, straight from the Salmon's mouth:

It was conceived of as a Save Our Wild Salmon outreach event for Reno's hip young adult crowd. Over a delicious meal of glazed Salmon (see below for the heartbreakingly good recipe) and a local micro brew from a brewery called Great Basin Brewing Co., we had the opportunity to educate between thirty and forty people about our campaign.

We anticipated that this crowd would immediately want to get involved, so we had a table set-up with postcards, petitions and information they could take-away with them. This event was highly successful, thanks in large part to the organizing done by Andy Mitchell from Patagonia, who recruited the party attendees and even served as host, inviting us into his home and backyard for the event.

The night's signature dish was glazed salmon that left everyone wanting the recipe. The creator of the glaze, Josh Wozniak - also of Patagonia fame - happily offered the secret to this slammin' salmon recipe, as well as the back story. Enjoy:

LC's Heartbreakingly Awesome Salmon Glaze

I was initially treated to the wonderment of this salmon glaze by my girlfriend, who's an amazing cook. I thought that I'd never be able to re-create this, seeing as I am well versed in the art of the perfect grilled cheese sandwich and not in the art of mixing ingredients together.

This recipe will cover two good sized fillets; double the quantities as needed for additional pieces of salmon.

For the glaze itself:

• 3 tbsp honey 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp (chopped) scallion
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp (chopped) thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt

Place these ingredients in a tightly closed jar and shake until well mixed, then pour from jar onto salmon fillets.

Preheat your charcoal (my preference) or gas grill, liberally coat the top side of your salmon fillets with the glaze, and place skin-side down on your grill, let salmon cook approximately 8-10 mins then close grill cover and let cook another 2-4 mins.

Ideally, you will want the salmon fillet to still appear almost raw in the center of the thickest part of the fillet by about a 1/2".

By removing the fillet from the heat of the grill at this point, you will have a medium rare piece of salmon.

Manga!

That's it for now from the roadshow - Jeremy, Bobby and Buddy

Days 26 and 27: Reno Weekend Spectacular!

Fish out of water? The stark but stunning Nevada desert

After a long and beautiful drive through the desert of Nevada, past Death Valley, Area 51, and Joshua Tree National Park, we pulled into the Patagonia outlet in Reno, NV for some well deserved sleep. We awoke to find a fascinating building (the only LEED certified office building in the state of Nevada) in full swing. The outlet was having a massive sale, and excited outdoor enthusiasts were absolutely looting the place. We spent the entire day outside of the store talking to people from Nevada and beyond.

That evening we were treated to a slamming party by our Patagonia contact Andy Mitchell. It was very well attended and we talked everyone up about the campaign over delicious local brews and perfectly barbequed wild salmon. Thanks to Andy's knowledge of salmon recovery, everyone at the gathering was aware and concerned about Snake River issues and wanted to know how they could help get Senator Harry Reid involved. And of course all of these big kids had to climb into Fin a few times. She was very well received and enjoyed by all. Thanks again to Andy and Cameron, our wonderful hosts!

We awoke feeling great on Sunday morning and went back to the Patagonia store for a few hours. We were immediately met by a reporter from Reno's NPR station who pulled off the first ever radio interview from within a salmon, spending a good ten minutes inside of Fin as I explained our trip and the campaign. Shortly thereafter the local CBS television news, KTVN, interviewed Bobby.

Bobby explains the campaign to a KTVN CBS Reno reporter

By midday, we said goodbye our friends at Patagonia, and packed up to head to Lake Tahoe for a concert by the legendary Afrobeats artist Femi Kuti. After a wonderfully refreshing dip into Lake Tahoe, we pulled into the Truckee Regional Park, on the California side of the border, to find a spot to set-up. We sat for a few minutes to plan our attack when suddenly we were approached by a truck, tricked out with reggae graphics on the side and back, that we had seen back on the highway. Apparently they had somehow noticed us as well.

It turned out to be the truck of the M.C. for the concert. He fell immediately for our road show star and gathered all of his friends to check her out. After we were positioned by the front of the parking lot, he even announced to the entire show that everyone should come check us out during set break. It turned into quite a scene, with Reggae fans swarming Fin and our petitions.

As we pulled off into the night we agreed that it was another successful weekend on the road show, and lamented that it was indeed our last. That’s right, this road show is coming to an end, with only two more stops before we point our salmon north for her final spawning of the summer, back up to Chimicum.

But this is no time to stop reading the blog, because its about to really heat up with some retrospective videos, including one entitled: “Now It Can Be Told,” which covers shocking behind the scenes footage. So tune in again soon.

Jeremy, Bobby and Buddy