The film begins with the release in 1993 of 24 sockeye salmon into Idaho's Redfish Lake. The lake is the only known spawning ground of the endangered Snake River sockeye salmon, but there are 11 dams the fish must negotiate during their 900-mile journey between the ocean and Redfish. Sockeye activists want the four most harmful dams removed.

The release was part of an experimental breeding program begun in 1991, when only one female sockeye salmon returned to Redfish. Hundreds of thousands of smolts have been released into the lake since 1993, but so far only one sockeye returned for the spawning seasons of 1996 and 1998. No sockeye returned in 1994, 1995 or 1997.

Lionel Boyer of the Shoshone-Bannock tribe, which has fought a long battle to preserve the sockeye, spoke at the1993 release ceremony and opens the film. His message is clear: "If you are not concerned and are here just to be interested ... prayer is not going to help us."

"Hearing Lionel speak that day really moved me and made me want to take action," says Levy. "I hope the film will do the same for others; focus public attention on the plight of the salmon and present the relationship between ecology and the economy in a different light, showing the interconnectedness of our environment and our way of life."

"Nearly $3 billion has been spent in the last 15 years on salmon recovery. If we took down the dams that money could be used to mitigate any economic affects felt by agricultural and industrial interests."

The film won the grand prize at the World Population Film/Video Festival and has also garnered recognition at the Documentary Film Festival, the International Wildlife Film Festival and others. Please visit the filmmaker's web site, www.bluefish.org, for more information on the video and the plight of Idaho's wild Salmon and Steelhead.

This film is available for purchase through the Alliance for the Wild Rockies for $20.00 (includes shipping and handling). All proceeds go to benefit AWR's programs and campaigns.