What is Salmon Nation?

Salmon Nation is a place and an idea.

As a place, it stretches across all the watersheds where wild Pacific salmon live, from central California to the North Slope of Alaska. That’s two countries, five states, two territories, and one province. The wild salmon that call these waters home connect all living things: everything and everyone is connected to—and is nourished by—salmon.

As an idea, Salmon Nation is a bioregion or nature state, an expanse of land without human-defined borders and politically-designated lines of division. Without boundaries, we are free to imagine a different relationship between the lands and waters and the people of Salmon Nation: one based on a shared vision of regenerative and resilient prosperity and security.

Map by © Alister A. Fenix, WayFind LLC, 2024. Map imagery © Mapbox, © Maxar.

“Salmon are the measurement of well-being for all life in the Pacific Northwest.”

Salmon defender Billy Frank, Jr. (Nisqually)

Did you know...

Every watershed has its people

Salmon Nation contains several great watersheds of North America including the Columbia, Klamath, Snake, Fraser, Skeena, Stikine, Taku, Unuk, Nass, Chilkat, Copper, Yukon Rivers, plus the Salish Sea and Bristol Bay. All are the traditional waters of wild Pacific salmon.

Photo: Mt. Robson, Owen Perry

The Indigenous World

The lands and waters of Salmon Nation have been stewarded by Indigenous peoples since the beginning of time. More than 125 different Indigenous languages with 200 different dialects were spoken here, making Salmon Nation one of the most culturally diverse bioregions in North America.

Today, more than 500 Indigenous communities call Salmon Nation home.

Photo: Klemtu Big House, Owen Perry

Carbon Buffer

The coastal temperate rainforest sequesters more carbon per acre than any other forest type on the planet.

Photo: Red Cedars, Bella Coola, Owen Perry

We are all connected

Over 30 million people live in Salmon Nation.

Think about the natural elements that connect us to this bioregion – wild Pacific salmon, orcas, herring, caribou, a beautiful coastal temperate rainforest, a vast tundra, snow-capped mountains, high deserts and plateaus, and many wonderfully livable, urban and rural communities.

Photos: le colibri STUDIO, Melanie Orr, Owen Perry

Magic Canoe works in collaboration with Salmon Nation Trust: a Public Benefit LLC focused on whole system design and instigation of creative initiatives and companies that improve the health of our bioregion. Read the thesis here.

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Magic Canoe is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (Tax ID: #85-2100120) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. This website may contain images of people that have walked on.