Chilkat

Each year I travel to Alaska's Chilkat river to photograph and film one of the last salmon runs of the season and the wildlife surrounding it. This season the salmon never came. Normally there are thousands of chum salmon attracting congregations of bald eagles that easily number into the several hundreds. This season saw one of the worst salmon runs in over 50 years resulting in the presence of only the resident bald eagle population primarily consisting of local nesting eagles. This short 15 minute film constitutes over 44 hours of filming. I finished filming some of the last footage hours before the devastating land slides occurred in the Haines borough of Alaska cutting off access to the Chilkat area where the eagle population resides. The following week saw more massive slides and weather events. A disaster emergency declaration was issued bringing in two coast guard cutters and the national guard to assist in search and rescue efforts. The loss of life was devastating, but the people of Haines are amazing and came together to help each other. This video is for Haines, Alaska. You are incredible!