Amy Gulick talks salmon at Bearfest presentation of new book

Author and photographer Amy Gulick visited Wrangell this past week for Bearfest. Gulick last visited Wrangell about four years ago, she said, while doing research for her latest book. Now that said book is on the market, she returned to promote her work and to talk about some of what she learned.

"The Salmon Way: An Alaska State of Mind" gathers together stories and photographs across Alaska, showing a unique way of life where peoples' lifestyles are still closely connected to the natural resources around them. More specifically, the book looks at how people are connected to Alaska's salmon.

"As a writer and photographer, I tell real life stories, but how do I decide which stories to pursue?" Gulick asked. "There's so many interesting topics out there, and at some point I've got to just pick one and go for it because it takes years, many years, to put together a book or project like this."

The book is a collection of stories from across Alaska, from Bristol Bay to Southeast. One such story comes from Wrangell itself, from fisherman John Yeager. Yeager has been a sport fishing guide in Wrangell since 2005, Gulick writes in her book, shortly after retiring from the Coast Guard.

"I'm not so much trying to fill the freezers of my clients; I'm trying to fill their minds with memories," Yeager said in the book. "There are many 'firsts' on this boat - first time in Alaska, first time catching a salmon, or first time fishing with a grandchild. I like that I can provide experiences that will stay with people forever."

What interested Gulick in this book, she said, is that there is still a place in the world where people and salmon are so closely intertwined. The state really is one of the last places in the world with such a rich supply of salmon, and she wanted to know what the lives of people who live "a salmon way of life" are like. Looking at a map of Alaska, she said, one could see an incredible number of rivers and waterways running through the state, many of which are home to one species of salmon or another.

"What I see is a living landscape, a beating heart whose arteries of life are all of those blue waterways," she said. "What you can't see on this map are the salmon, pulsing through those waterways, bringing life to bears, birds, plants, people, and communities. Everywhere I went, Alaskans told me that salmon are their lifeblood."

To learn more about "The Salmon Way" visit http://www.thesalmonway.org.