The Editor,

Swal! Richmond News readers who took such an interest in the coverage of salmon issues this summer will be interested in the following sequel.

I have just returned from a week-long expedition down the Fraser River from Hope to Vancouver, accompanying a flotilla of canoes.

The paddlers were an eclectic mixture of environmentalists, fishers, First Nations, politicians, scientists, media, and everyday folks, from eight to 80, who have become increasingly concerned about the many threats to salmon survival.

These Wild Salmon People, as they have become known, coalesced around Alexandra Morton, a now famous whale biologist studying Orca in the Broughton Archipelago.

She has long been expressing alarm about the effects of open net pen salmon farming on wild salmonids. The formidable logistics were organized by Elena Edwards of Mission.

The canoes were accompanied by the Baerg family from Fraser River Raft Expeditions in Yale, in a motorized pontoon vessel, to ensure safety. As gear wrangler my own minor part was transporting packs and equipment from camp to camp.

At each of the five camps down the Fraser we were welcomed ashore, honoured, accommodated, feted and feasted by First Nations people in Hope, Chilliwack, Matsqui, Pitt Meadows, and Musqueam. At the final camp, at Jericho Beach on English Bay, we were joined by two dugouts paddled from Vancouver Island. On the final day our fleet swelled with other paddlers, yachts, and fish boats for a rally at Vanier Park. That was followed by a march to the Vancouver Art Gallery in support of the Cohen Commission's inquiry into missing salmon.

It has been a long time since I've seen such a mixed assembly of people united in common cause.

My increasing sense of hopelessness about the people being the cause of our world's problems feels somewhat healed by this evidence that the people are the solution.

To all the Wild Salmon People who gave so much to this effort, I wish to both thank you and say that it was such an honour, privilege and pleasure to serve you.

Interested readers can see a photo record of the expedition at www.salmonaresacred.org

Hilwith!

Ramblin' Ryan Lake Gnarly Old Dudes of Steveston (GODS)