Here’s just one of McLeod’s tattoos, the TU fish logo.

We want to know if you have had your love of fishing permanently inked on. Send your photos to skinsella@tu.org then check back to see what others have done, including TU staff members!  Also don’t forget to look for McLeod’s full story in the upcoming issue.

It’s not news to most of us in the angling community, but nice to see the issue get some ink in a major publication like the New York Times.

Orvis’ Retail/Wholesale Marketing Manager Tory Myler credits TU volunteers for helping make the effort a success. “We hope that class attendees will not only enjoy the sport of fly fishing for years to come, but also get involved with TU’s critical conservation efforts around the country,” Myler said.

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. In Greenberg’s words, “For every piece of salmon you buy, you should write a letter to try to stop the Pebble mine from happening.” We could not have said it better ourselves. Thanks, Paul, for speaking up and energizing your readers to do their part to protect Bristol Bay. Read more about Paul.

Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador

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. The journey by this pair of brothers from the San Francisco Bay Area is also a fundraiser for Trout Unlimited Alaska’s efforts to stop this high-risk mine project and to protect Bristol Bay, producer of  the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon run.

In their quest to ride through 15 countries—from Prudhoe Bay, the northernmost point accessible by road in Alaska, to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of Argentina—the Parker brothers recently made it to Peru. They’ve  been updating their blog regularly and have some fascinating and very entertaining entries to share. Read more on the Pebble Pedalers’ blog and check out their web site.

Dorothy Larson of the Curyung Tribe, at left, greets EPA chief Lisa Jackson. (Margaret Bauman, Alaska Newspapers)

The nation’s top environmental official heard blistering opposition from Bristol Bay residents to the proposed Pebble mine on Wednesday. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson held a listening session in the fishing community of Dillingham where tribal leaders and many others told her that the risks associated with Pebble are too high and that her agency should not allow the project to move forward. Read more in this Alaska Newspapers Inc. article or listen to a public radio story filed by KDLG.

The sidebar on page 95 says this:  “TU originated in Michigan 50 years ago and now has 400 chapters. The current focus is on restoring native fish–Atlantic salmon, westslope cutthroat, golden trout–to native habitats. BEST FOR:  Tobacco chewers.”

Tobacco chewers? We were a little stumped. So, we ask you, TU members, to weigh in on this one. What do you think about this distinction? We would love to hear what you have to say.

Earlier this month, Trout Unlimited Alaska enlisted the help of several dozen restaurants and markets in the Pacific Northwest to help spread the word about the risks facing Bristol Bay. In this guest blog entry, Elizabeth Dubovsky, Trout Unlimited Alaska’s Why Wild Program Director, talks about Savor Bristol Bay 2010……

Right when Americans fire up grills in honor of our nation’s independence, thousands of boats fill the waters of Bristol Bay, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. In early July, Bristol Bay’s salmon fishing season peaks as tens of millions of adult wild salmon return to their natal waters, completing the last leg of their long journeys. In celebration of this annual pulse of life, Trout Unlimited Alaska brought Bristol Bay’s salmon and story to Seattle and Portland for Savor Bristol Bay week. By agreeing to offer Bristol Bay sockeye on their menus and in display cases, nearly 40 restaurants and markets jumped onboard to vote with their forks for Bristol Bay and reconnect their customers with this unique and irreplaceable wild salmon source.

Throughout the week, diners and had a chance to learn from local celebrity chefs about why salmon consumers in the Northwest should care about the future of Bristol Bay.  Shoppers at Portland’s New Seasons Market and Seattle’s PCC Natural Markets participated in salmon cooking classes and demonstrations where they learned about the unique aspects of Bristol Bay salmon and how to prepare it themselves.  Dozens of Seattleites and Portlanders also turned out to watch the award-winning documentary about Bristol Bay, Red Gold.

At every Savor Bristol Bay event, food was the focus, and with good reason. For Trout Unlimited Alaska, a Bristol Bay salmon fillet is the most powerful outreach tool. When it comes to engaging people in the campaign to save Bristol Bay from threats like the proposed Pebble mine, a taste of freshly prepared sockeye speaks for itself.  When someone takes a bite of a beautiful and delicious Bristol Bay sockeye fillet, you can see in their eyes that they get it, that they realize what it’s all about and that they have something at stake in Bristol Bay.  I see it at every Savor Bristol Bay event we do, including at our Red Gold screening at Roy St Coffee when someone in the audience took their first bite of Chef Kevin Davis’s Salmon Nicoise.  The joy of eating flavorful, delicious food spread across their face until they suddenly realized that the salmon that they were eating is what’s at stake.  That’s when they raised their hand and asked what they could do to help protect Bristol Bay.

Anyone who eats wild salmon has a stake in Bristol Bay. Losing Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery to a mining accident or acid mine drainage means losing our nation’s largest wild salmon fishery and the largest sockeye salmon run on the planet.  Given the state of our wild salmon fisheries in the Lower 48, we can’t afford to lose the last best place left for wild salmon. Thankfully, we have a lot to gain by coming together and speaking out as salmon consumers around the world and creating change, one bite at a time.

Learn more about how you can Savor Bristol Bay.