Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table

Salmon have been prized for food and admired by many cultures for their remarkable migration pattern from rivers to oceans and back to the rivers of their origins. Cook (The Mushroom Hunters; Fat of the Land), who writes about wild foods and the outdoors and leads hikes in the Seattle area, starts his salmon journey at the Copper River in Alaska. He continues on to visit the fishing community of Cordova, AK, and explores the Rogue and Columbia Rivers in Oregon and Washington State, the Sacramento River system in California, and the Snake River in Wyoming. The author describes the species of wild Pacific salmon and the negative effects on their populations caused by logging, warming river and ocean temperatures, and the damming of rivers to provide hydroelectric power and irrigation. He further argues that habitat destruction, human population growth, and the effects of salmon hatcheries have altered the ecosystems on which the fish depend. Throughout, Cook deftly conveys his love of nature, the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and the delectable eating provided by fresh caught wild salmon.