My wife and I recently accepted jobs as managers of a resort fishing lodge in southwest Alaska.  So, we uprooted from western Colorado and started our journey to Alaska with our three and a half year-old Reya.  She likes outdoor adventure and travel so it was not very difficult to convince her that she would be in for a treat to spend two months in a remote environment. 

Working upwards of sixteen hours a day can be exhausting on individuals as well as on the family.  One way to break up those long days is to connect a little with your surroundings and a great way for us to do this is to spend time on the river.  Our lodge is located on the banks of the Naknek River, home to the largest salmon run in the world.  World renowned for several species of spawning salmon, this river has been used for its subsistence value for hundreds of years.  With this knowledge we feel we are fortunate enough to harvest salmon for our nutritional benefit and to educate Reya on the importance of sustainability and riparian dynamics.

After a few days of listening to our fishermen talk of their adventures in the wild with salmon, grizzly bears, float planes and eagles, we decided it was time for us to experience it first hand.  Reya couldn't wait to catch her first fish!  She watched our guides clean and fillet many salmon so she saw the end result but she wanted to see the fish being caught.  So one afternoon, Reya and I went to our boat dock and started fishing the small tributary located next to the boats.  After about a half an hour we landed our first salmon and I let Reya feel the tension on the pole and feel the energy of the fish.  After we pulled in the beautiful silver (coho) salmon, Reya wanted to see if it was a "mommy" or a "daddy."  I then took the fish to the table and we filleted the fish, vacuum sealed it and put it in the freezer.  This whole process opened Reya's eyes to the concept of subsistence fishing.

By exposing our children at an early age to the opportunities to provide yourself with organic wild meat, be it fish, elk, deer, etc., we are doing them a favor by establishing an ethic that can distinguish good food products from bad ones.  I am not condoning hunting or fishing solely for the sport of it, but I am in support of using animal products in a responsible, respectful, educational, and sustainable manner. 

I too hope that you are in favor of teaching your children the value of knowing where your food comes from because you never know when that responsibility may rest on your shoulders, not the local market