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Blue Dot 98: Kings Of The Yukon

In this episode Dave visits with Adam Weymouth, author of the new book Kings of The Yukon. In it, he describes taking an epic trip down the length of the Yukon River in a canoe. His purpose is to learn about the longest Chinook or "King" salmon run in the world. As Adam leaves the spawning grounds at the headwaters, the salmon are entering the mouth of the river from the Bering Sea 2000 miles away. Somewhere along the way, the powerful swimmers and the human paddler will meet. As he journeys through Canada and Alaska, Weymouth learns more about both the imperiled salmon and the people who depend upon the salmon for their livelihoods and sustenance. The arcane world of fishing regulations from both the Unites States in Canada often conflicts with the ancient practices of the native people as well as the commercial fisherman profiled in the story. Add in the impacts of environmental degradation and what ensues is a gripping story about one of the last great salmon runs on the planet.

Later in the show, we hear from Sheryl Hosler, the Roving Naturalist tells us tales of animal rescue and rehabilitation and how we humans can often cause more harm than good when we try to rescue baby birds and animals that haven't in fact, been abandoned by their parents!
 

Dave Schlom is the longtime host and creator of Blue Dot. From surfing to Voyager in interstellar space, rock guitar to orcas in our imperiled oceans, the topics on Blue Dot are as varied as the host’s interests and connections -- which are pretty limitless! An internationally respected space history journalist, Dave is also deeply fascinated by all aspects of the grand workings of nature’s awesome machinery on scales ranging from galactic to subatomic. And topics take in all aspects of the arts and sciences.