"All of nature begins to whisper its secrets to us through its sounds. Sounds that were previously incomprehensible to our soul now become the meaningful language of nature."
- Rudolf Steiner, founder of the biodynamic agricultural movement

Anyone who thought a Pebble Mine bumper sticker, pro or con, would lose its timeliness after the clean water initiative took a drubbing at the polls in August of 2008 just didn't know how many fronts a war over Alaska resources can have. Besides bumpers and ballot boxes, current battles are waged in quasi-judicial hearings at the Alaska Public Office Commission and through the quasi-truth-telling image advertisements on TV.

Trout Unlimited, the national nonprofit of fly-fisherman, has another front: the quasi-cultured environs known as restaurant dining rooms.

(Seattle, WA) – Prominent Seattle chefs are partnering with the nation's largest coldwater fisheries organization, Trout Unlimited, to promote Bristol Bay, Alaska – the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery – as it faces mounting threats from a proposed open-pit gold and copper mine. To raise awareness of what's at stake and to celebrate Bristol Bay salmon, Seattle Chefs Collaborative and Slow Food Seattle will be working with Trout Unlimited to educate Seattle diners by featuring Bristol Bay salmon on the menus of Seattle-area restaurants.

It's not often you get invited to a tasting event for a species the organizers are looking to save.

But that's what Trout Unlimited, a sportfishing advocacy group, and New Seasons Market cooked up this weekend at the grocery chain's nine metro-area stores on behalf of Alaska's Bristol Bay salmon.

The Bristol Bay salmon run, which encompasses five rivers in southwest Alaska, is far from endangered.

A Portland, Ore., grocer’s commitment to wild Alaska seafood is paying off handsomely for a Naknek fishing family now delivering nearly 2,000 pounds of Bristol Bay sockeyes a week to the market.

“It’s great so far,” said Izetta Chambers of Naknek Family Fishing, who struck a deal with the Portland grocery chain New Seasons Markets, to sell Bristol Bay sockeye at eight New Seasons stores in the Portland area.

The New Seasons’ sales have exploded the market base for the Naknek family, whose other customers are local sports lodges and the Brooks Camp.

Today, fishing boats are streaming from California harbors for the first salmon catch of the season -- and since 2005. For three weeks, until May 31, the waters closest to San Francisco -- from Point Arena (Mendocino County) in the north, to Pigeon Point in southern San Mateo County -- are open to commercial fishing of wild king salmon.

You can grill it, broil it, bake it, poach it, barbecue it, smoke it, turn it into croquettes or serve it raw as sushi, with lemon and butter, in a cranberry reduction sauce, with fennel or dill or garlic mashed potatoes.

But turning up the heat on Congress, nearly 200 chefs from around the country warned Tuesday that unless lawmakers act quickly, wild salmon could disappear from their restaurants faster than it takes to boil an egg or ruin a souffle.