Tag Archives: salmon

In the three years I spent photographing and writing my new book, Soul of the Skagit, I listened to countless people affectionately refer to the river as the “Magic Skagit.” Sure, it has a ring to it. But I was relatively new to the Pacific Northwest, and besides the obvious beauty of the Skagit River and the North Cascades, I …

Breaching killer whales, soaring eagles, and sea lions hauled out on rocks along stunning shorelines—these are just a few of the sights that people travel to the San Juan Islands every year by foot, boat, or plane to behold. Of course, if you’ve been to the islands before, then you know their moniker as “the hidden gem of Washington State” …

In the spring of 1984, a team of scuba divers assembled on the rough cobble beach of Legoe Bay, located on the shores of Lummi Island in the Salish Sea. Along with a crew of archaeology students, their purpose was unusual. They were not there to search out the sunken remains of a ship but rather to investigate stories that …

If you spend any time at all in the Pacific Northwest, you’ll see evidence all around that wild salmon are the backbone of our environment, culture, and economy. Yet many salmon-bearing streams have been degraded by past land-use practices—the removal of large woody debris and riparian vegetation, the straightening and ditching of stream channels, and the installation of poorly designed …

An alarming factoid has been floating around for a few years now: In a “business as usual scenario,” by 2050, plastics will outweigh fish in the ocean. This figure was first presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and is based on a study released in 2015 by the Ocean Conservancy. It says something about plastics, but it …

The sound of rushing water and songs of an ouzel draw me closer to the river. For years, drawn to the high mountains, I passed by the Nooksack River on my way to the North Cascades. Now, having cultivated a deep appreciation for the beauty and serenity of this beautiful watercourse, I stop and linger on its banks to soak …

When I plan a backpacking trip and am working out where to camp each night my main consideration is “Where can I take the best pictures?” I think about the best views and which angle of light I want. And so my camp sites and hiking goals each day are based upon trying to be at the right place at …

by Jessica Newley   After last year’s successful mission to shoot Pink salmon , I’ve been eagerly waiting all summer for news of this years runs.   When word came last Thursday, from our friends at the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, that the Coho had finally made it up the Cascade River we started packing our bags and preparing for a …