And that’s not all. Come see one of the best documentaries ever made by Felt Soul Media – Red Gold. For those of you that have seen it, it’s even better on a big screen (trust me). There will also be a panel from people directly involved in the fight to protect the people who have voted this project down – even though large mining companies continue to seek approval from government agencies to proceed – even after they said they would listen to the people.

Come out and show your support, learn about the proposed Pebble Mine, or to just enjoy a good time with friends.

Please RSVP through the following link. Get your name on the list now, as we’re expecting a large crowd!

Denver, Colorado
Oriental Theater
4335 West 44th Avenue
Denver, CO 80212
Free Admission

Hope to see you there!

When you go to a store or restaurant and order wild salmon, it’s most likely coming from this region in southwest Alaska. For me, living in Colorado, I release every trout I catch, then on the way home, buy a big slab of wild Alaskan salmon to grill up for the family (yes, the dogs like it as much as we do). I catch heat from my wife because every restaurant we visit that says it has ‘salmon’, I always ask if it’s wild Alaskan.

There are so many reasons to disagree with this proposed mining project that I can’t begin to start writing about them. The fact is, this takes place in a region that where millions of salmon return every year to spawn. What happens when the earthen dams that will be developed to hold back toxic waste fail, or are left behind once all gold and copper are extracted? Remember folks, there’s a lot of earthquakes in this area. It’s a down right scary situation. We’ve seen from other similar processes that the track record is not the best. Pebble says that everything can co-exist, but give me one example where it has be environmentally safe with no exceptions.

I call on everyone reading this to simply look at the research and make your own opinion – I think that you will agree with the local people of Bristol Bay and oppose it. Maybe some of you won’t, and that’s ok, but I don’t live there, and most of you don’t either, so why not listen to what the locals want and don’t want. Education is key – everyone should at least pay attention to this process and feel free to state your opinion. We’re Americans, and we’re given that right.

Here are a few links to keep up with the news and process of the proposed Pebble Mine:

Save Bristol Bay

Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska

Renewable Resources Coalition

Also, some social media outlets:

Save Bristol Bay on Facebook

1 Million Strong on Facebook

Save Bristol Bay on Twitter

No Pebble Mine on Twitter

Thanks to everyone who opposes or questions this mine and what it could do to the region. If you’re interested, leave a comment below. I have a limited amount stickers available if anyone would like a few to show your support.

Red Gold | trailer from felt soul media on Vimeo.

Most of you know the significance of the proposed Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska. This documentary created by Felt Soul Media has won awards left and right, including one the 10 best from Outdoor Magazine. In the coming months, you’re going to be hearing a lot more about this proposal, as the Pebble Partnership begins its permit process. The people have already spoken out against this construction (possibly the largest open pit mine in the world), but that hasn’t stopped the continued exploration. Remember, our voices can help – even if it doesn’t always seem so.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to comment below for your chance to win.  I’ll close comments on Sunday, December 19th and list the winner. Happy Holidays!

Update: Winner!

The random number was #5! From the first to last comments, that would be Pam Funk! Thanks Pam – please send my your mailing address through the email on the contact page and I’ll get your copy of Red Gold out to you!

Thank you all for commenting, and stay tuned for further contests and information about Bristol Bay!

I arrived at the hotel and began my preparing for my presentation of Red Gold that evening. This was a last-minute gig, but was pleasantly surprised with about 20 people filled the room to watch the film and ask questions. Pat and Carol Oglesby gave me a warm welcome and introduced me to the crowd. After the movie, the attendees were very impressed with Felt Soul’s work and had so many questions (most of which I could luckily answer).

As my buddy Geoff from Ross Reels and I woke from a night of gorilla marketing, I found even more people pulling me aside to ask questions about the proposed pebble mine in SW Alaska. The genuine interest and concern was absolutely great!

The Western Colorado Fly-Fishing Expo is in it’s 12th year. This year focused primarily on introducing kids to the sport of angling and hosted fly-tiers from all over. It was awesome to see the turnout and just how many kids were interested in learning how to cast and tie flies. The next generation of our sport, right in front of my eyes.

While the show went great, Geoff and I decided to depart mid-afternoon and head for Glenwood Springs to prepare for a day on the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork rivers. We grabbed a small room, and then headed for a local showing of the Fly Fishing Film Tour hosted by Nick Clement of Reel Escape Films. The showing was not as large or rowdy as the Denver one, but it was great to meet Nick and other local anglers (not to mention watching some more fish-porn).

Geoff and I woke the next morning, grabbed some coffee and headed up the canyon to fish the Pan. The ‘Toilet-Bowl’, as they call it, was full of feeding bows, but they didn’t like my flies. Geoff landed a few, but it was tough going and disappointing because of all the fish we could see. Nevertheless, we headed down river, found a little spot with no anglers and just started absolutely killing the river on tiny zebra midges. Every other cast had one hooked, and we landed most. Small fish, but plenty of them!

Our last stop of the day was the Fork outside of Basalt. The flows had jumped from early morning when we passed, but we threw on some stones and went for some bigger fish. I only landed one more, but it was a nice brown holding just below a run in slow water. Geoff landed a nice whitefish in the fast water, but by that time we were beat and called it a day. Parting to opposite sides of the state, we drove off from the rivers and back to the working life that awaited.

It was a pleasure working with two of the most knowledgeable people on the Bristol Bay “No Pebble Mine” cause, Shoren Brown and Mark Hieronymus, as well as all the other volunteers that took time out of their weekend to help. But the highlight of my weekend was meeting Kurt ‘Ole’ Olson and the entire Egdorf family(Dave, Kim, and Camille). Ole and the Egdorfs were stars in the documentary Red Gold, which was shown Friday night at Cervantes’. I can’t tell you how impressed I was actually spending time with these amazing folks. We had a great turnout and emotional speeches from several people that will be directly impacted by the proposed mine.

Other notables that stopped by the booths to show their support included Todd Helton, Brian O’keefe, Brian Kraft, John Gierach, Tom Sadler and Dave Whitlock.

Thanks to everyone who showed their support at the shows and film. We raised a considerable amount of money, and got nearly 1,000 postcards signed to send to politicians to let them know people are aware of, and against, the proposed pebble mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

This is something true and dear to my heart, so if anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll be happy to share what I can.

For more information on the cause, please visit Sportsman Alliance for Alaska and SaveBristolBay.org

Special thanks to Umpqua Feather Merchants for providing raffle items at the Red Gold showing.

I’ll have more pictures as I receive them.