Salmon symposium and early gift ideas

First, I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and didn’t eat too much turkey! We all have a lot to be thankful for: our freedoms guaranteed by our federal and state constitutions, living in this Great Land, our families, our health, the outdoor opportunities we have access to in the Mat-Su, and the list goes on. I hope you took a moment between Thanksgiving dinner and whichever football game was on television to give thanks for your own particular list of blessings.

Last Sunday’s Frontiersman had a very nice article about the Mat-Su Basin Salmon Symposium. The reporter concentrated on the keynote speaker’s presentation which was probably the best overview of the intricacies of how salmon fit in an ecosystem I have ever heard. I hold a Master’s degree in Wildlife Management and worked for 24 years in the wildlife (and fisheries) fields, so I’ve heard my share of talks about ecosystems. This was arguably the best!

The symposium had a couple of dozen presentations and several “tidbits” where a quick update or “heads up” was presented. There were networking breaks as well, where symposium attendees could meet and interface with others doing either similar or related work. The highlight of the symposium in my opinion, however, was the last item on the agenda.

The symposium topic was listed as: Story Telling: The Super Salmon Film. This approximately 45-minute film was produced and directed by Ryan Peterson of Alaskanist Stories. Ryan also wrote and did some of the filming for the film. The story was about a salmon which had been radio-tagged in the lower Susitna River and proceeded to make its way virtually to the headwaters of the Susitna, The fish then turned around and returned to the lower river and proceeded to disappear from the tracking antennas.

Mike Wood, a resident along the river in the Talkeetna area was prominently featured in the film making comments and observations about life along the river and how a dam in the upper river would have widespread negative impact on the entire river ecosystem. The scenery captured in the film was breathtaking. The film depicted both the wildlife dependent on the river ecosystem and the way the seasons of the year affected the river.

I know both Mike and Ryan. Ryan is a truly dedicated and gifted story teller who can translate that talent into a beautiful visual story in the form of a film. Mike is a strong advocate for protecting the river and maintaining its natural resources and systems in an undeveloped state. He is passionate and genuine in his love for the river.

This film has been shown in limited areas around the state and recently was presented an award from a film festival in Canada. The film has also seen limited showings in the Lower 48 and was met with rave reviews. The film will continue to be shown around Alaska and will be on the internet, available for viewing, within a year or less. If you haven’t seen it, I would recommend you do. Regardless of your position on the Susitna-Watana Dam project, the film is worth seeing for its artistic value alone.

If you have some time today, you can drive into Anchorage and attend the Alaska Veterans Gun Show being held at Lumen Christi High School on Jewel Lake Road. The event is sponsored by the Mat-Su Veterans Foundation. We’re into the holiday season and perusing the gun show aisles might just turn up the ideal gift for your favorite outdoors person!

Black Friday is over and, if I understand this whole internet holiday shopping thing, Cyber Monday is tomorrow. Hopefully, you already know what your favorite outdoor person is looking for and you can begin shopping and watching for the sales. Over the next couple of weeks, starting today, I’ll mention possible outdoor gifts that you can give which will be appreciated. Some will be inexpensive while others are not.

Here’s some stuff I would like. I bought a PCP air rifle a couple of years ago along with the hand pump to recharge it. It takes about 1500 pumps to completely re-pressurize the rifle. I’m getting too old to do that so I’m looking for an air tank. A new carbon-fiber tank with all the fittings lists for around $400. I need to buy all the loading paraphernalia so I can shoot my Brown Bess blackpowder musket. The wish list I have comes to around $275.

I’ll list more gift ideas next week.