Matinees that Matter Follow-Up Resources
SEPTEMBER'S FILM: RED GOLD
SALMON RECOVERY
Actions you can take at home:
- A basic need of fish is water. The more water you take from streams and groundwater, the less is available for fish passage and habitat. Link here for water saving tips.
- In the Northwest electricity is largely generated through hydroelectric dams. Some dams block fish passage. Using less electricity reduces the need for dam-generated power, and leaves more water to carry young salmon to sea. Get on board with the BI Energy Challenge.
- Fertilizers reduce good fish habitat by promoting excessive growth of aquatic plants that deplete oxygen for fish. Visit the Natural Landscape Project for more information.
- Scoop your pet’s waste and dispose in the trash. Pet waste contains nutrient and bacterial pollutants that can run off from septic systems, driveways, yards and docks directly into the Harbor.
- Learn how your daily actions can help the salmon’s environment: http://wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/salmon/selfasmt/selfasmt.pdf
Get Smart about Salmon:
- The BI Watershed Council is partnering with the Suquamish Tribe and the City of BI to restore salmon to Cooper Creek at the head of Eagle Harbor. Read about the 2008 efforts here. To become involved, email Deb Rudnick at drudnick at biwatershedcouncil.org
- Try your hand at salmon fishing. Go out with a guide on the Olympic Peninsula rivers. Visit: http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/fallsalmon.htm
- Make a salmon guessing game with your children. Visit: http://www.kitsapgov.com/sswm/pdf/sswm_3068.pdf
- Get your school or youth group signed up for a salmon stream tour this fall or spring with the Kitsap Mountaineers.
- Survey, sample, teach…there are many volunteer opportunities with the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement group.
The Salmon are Spawning:
- Consult the “Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau” for salmon spawning locations and tips for best viewing practices.
- King County sites offer tours or have volunteer naturalists on hand to answer questions. Visit: http://www.cedarriver.org/documents/SalmonSEEsonFlyer.pdf
- Tour a salmon hatchery and see salmon in a kayak this fall in North Kitsap with Olympic Outdoor Center.
Resources of Interest:
- State of Salmon in Watersheds Reports- The 2008 State of Salmon in Watersheds Report – the fifth produced by the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office – chronicles what’s happening in watersheds, salmon recovery regions, and statewide in a manner that is easily understood by all audiences.
- Shared Strategy for Puget Sound is a groundbreaking collaborative initiative by Puget Sound communities to protect and restore salmon runs.
- WhyWild – Through WhyWild, Trout Unlimited works to educate and engage wild salmon stakeholders in Trout Unlimited’s efforts to protect, reconnect, restore and sustain wild Pacific salmon, their fisheries, and the communities that they support.
- Pacific Northwest Salmon Center - an educational and research facility dedicated to protecting the wild salmon as essential to the environment and culture of the Pacific Northwest.
- Puget Sound Action Team On Salmon Recovery- A project of Puget Sound Partnership.
- Article on Salmon Recovery 2008.
PROTECT BRISTOL BAY
- Read more on the issues of the Bristol Bay spawning grounds and the proposed Pebble Mine. Visit: http://www.savebristolbay.org.
- Sign the Bristol Bay Protection Pledge. To sign the pledge, or learn more about it, please contact pledge@protectbristolbay.org.
- Become a member of the Bristol Bay Alliance. Individual memberships cost $25.
- Check out the Red Gold study guide at www.redgoldfilm.com.
- Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land, and Water - Large Mine Permitting.
- Save Bristol Bay: August 2009 Press Release from Bristol Bay.