Salmon at the ‘B’-Bay

If you visit the brewery this July through August, you will find hand-painted salmon plaques decorating our Bistro walls. The artwork was made by the 4th graders of Whatcom County as part of the Students for Salmon program hosted by the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA). If you look closely, on each of these wooden plaques, there is a hand-written pledge by a 4th grader promising to do their individual part in restoring the wild salmon populations of Whatcom County.  Stunning photography highlighting the past years’ worth of NSEA’s volunteer work in the community, is also on display and for sale.

NSEA is a community based non-profit dedicated to restoring wild salmon populations in over 1,600km of rivers and streams in Whatcom Country. The main focus of NSEA is the restoration of lowland riparian areas, heavily impacted by human activities like agriculture and urban development. NSEA works with our local community by leading several volunteer projects a year which include activities like the replanting native foliage, stream improvement construction, and free educational courses.  One of these courses includes Students for Salmon, a hands-on environmental science program specifically for fourth grade students in Whatcom County, which teaches the basics of salmon and stream ecology while reinforcing values of stream stewardship, including both teacher and NSEA-led lessons and field experiences. The goal of the program is to teach students about salmon and their watershed environment. By teaching the students about what salmon require in order to live, the program encourages the students to become environmental stewards in the future. During the 2011-2012 school year, 1,131 of our local 4th graders spent a total of 16,625 hours in the Students for Salmon program!

This year, the kids hand-painted individual salmon plaques, which include a hand-written promise of how they will personally continue to help protect our local salmon species. In anticipation of the annual Salmon at the Bay Dinner hosted by NSEA, these vibrant fish now decorate our bistro walls — along with beautiful photography, documenting NSEA’s work in the community! NSEA and Boundary Bay invite you to join us for the annual gourmet wild-salmon dinner and celebrate the art, music and local community as a whole – Saturday, August 10th from 5-8:30 in the Beer Garden. There will be a live auction, silent auction, kids crafts, stand-up comedy, music and so much more! Tickets are $20 for adults/$10 for kids. Tickets can be purchased in advance by emailing aferdere@n-sea.org or by calling 360-715-0283 x 105

Celebrate Salmon at Boundary Bay Brewery

Inarguably, salmon plays a vital role in the culture and community of the Pacific Northwest.  And the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) is a local community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring sustainable wild salmon runs right here in Whatcom County.  As part of their annual fundraising efforts, they team up with us here at Boundary Bay Brewery every year to bring you Salmon at the Bay!

Salmon at the Bay is a celebration of salmon through art, food and music.  One of the ways they raise money is through the NSEA photography display up on the walls of our bistro – available for purchase for just $40 each. Proceeds from all the art sales go towards supporting NSEA’s salmon habitat restoration programs.  Another way they raise money for the programs is through their annual Salmon Dinner in our Beer Garden.

This Friday (August 5th), from 5-8:30pm, you can enjoy picked summer vegetables; qunioa salad with fresh herbs and feta cheese; fresh green salad with blue cheese, dried cranberries and pecans; corn with herbed butter; rolls with garlic herb butter and delicious grilled salmon with NSEA’s secret sauce!  Plus Mallard’s vanilla ice cream and fresh berry sauce (made with local strawberries and raspberries) for dessert.  Tickets are $20 at the door or $15 in advance – tickets available at NSEA and here at Boundary Bay Brewery.

At 9pm, the celebration will continue at with live music from Nick Vigarino.  Nick’s original music captures the expressive passion of the blues masters and he will blow you away with his guitar, dobro and harmonica skills! The show is 21+ only and $7 if you didn’t attend the salmon dinner.

Salmon, Beer and Bellingham!

"25 Mile Creek" in 2010 auction

Those of us lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest usually love salmon.  And not just to eat!!  If you love salmon like we do, head down to Boundary Bay Brewery (starting June 19th) for Salmon at the Bay, a silent art auction to benefit the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA).

The Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association(NSEA) is a community–based nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring sustainable wild salmon runs in Whatcom County since 1990.  They train and organize hundreds of volunteers every year and use education and outreach to engage the community in salmon recovery.  NSEA has well-established school and outreach programs and works on long-term projects to keep working at the job of salmon recovery.

But, like any nonprofit, NSEA has to rely on fundraising to continue their efforts, and this Salmon at the Bay silent auction is a great way to do it!  Each piece of art has been donated by a local artist expressing their passion for salmon, and as a whole, the artwork celebrates the history of Whatcom County salmon and our community’s efforts to ensure their sustainable future.  Proceeds from this silent auction benefit the salmon education and habitat restoration programs of Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association.  The art show will be displayed at Boundary Bay until August 6th and all items will be available for bidding through Online Silent Auction.

"Swirl" in 2010 auction

The other way to help NSEA raise money is to attend the art exhibit opening and salmon BBQ lunch on June 19th in the Boundary Bay beer garden.  Join us to celebrate our personal, cultural, historical, economic, and environmental connection to salmon.  This year’s theme is Earth, Water, Salmon – the elements of our stream ecosystems. Enjoy music from The Warren Street Session and check out the art hanging on the walls inside Boundary Bay. All event and art auction proceeds benefit NSEA programs to restore sustainable wild salmon runs in Whatcom County. Tickets for both events and music are available at the door or at the NSEA office.  Call 715-0283 or email info@n-sea.org to purchase tickets in advance or for more information.

Important Dates:

Saturday June 19th – Friday August 6th

Art Show displayed at Boundary Bay – All Items Available for Bidding Through Online Silent Auction at http://www.biddingforgood.com/SalmonattheBay2010.

Saturday June 19th  10am – 11am

Artists Reception

Saturday June 19th 11:30am – 3:00pm

Salmon Burger BBQ Lunch  –  $10

Friday August 6th  5:30pm – 8:30pm

Salmon BBQ Dinner  –  $25

Friday August 6th  9:30pm – Midnight

Live Music with Lucky Brown and the LB’s – $10 [Line up has changed as of July 26th: and Snug Harbor will now be playing instead of Lucky Brown!]

Tickets for both events and music are available at the door or at the NSEA office.  Call 715-0283 or email info@n-sea.org to purchase tickets in advance or for more information.

Boundary Bay Brewery Silent Auction

The Nooksack Salmon Enchancement Association (NSEA) is a nonprofit community-based organization dedicated to restoring sustainable wild salmon runs in Whatcom County.  Thanks to a supportive community and dedicated volunteers, Whatcom County streams offer clean, cool and healthy habitat for salmon.  But, like any nonprofit, NSEA has to rely on fundraising to continue their efforts.  If you missed the big salmon BBQ and Lucky Brown fundraiser show here in the Boundary Bay Beer Garden last weekend, don’t fret…you can still help!  Currently, on display at Boundary Bay Brewery, is Salmon at the Bay, a silent art auction to benefit NSEA.  Each piece of art has been donated by a local artist expressing their passion for salmon, and as a whole, the artwork celebrates the history of Whatcom County salmon and our community’s efforts to ensure their sustainable future.  Proceeds from this silent auction benefit the salmon education and habitat restoration programs of Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association.  To place a bid on the artwork, please view the Salmon at the Bay Art Auction Binder at the host station here in the brewery.  And, for all you out-of-towners, you can see a selection of the incredibly creative artwork here on the Boundary Bay Brewery website.  Cheers!

Salmon at The Bay

Salmon at the Bay is a fundraising event that features a salmon-inspired art show and a kick-off salmon bbq held at Boundary Bay Brewery every year forthe last six years. Salmon at the Bay is Northwest Salmon Enhancement Associations‘s largest fundraiser and all proceeds from the event go directly to funding streamside habitat restoration projects throughout Whatcom County.

This year’s theme was Common Waters: Connecting Salmon and People. One of the best things about Salmon at the Bay is the way this event really brings the community together and highlights the beauty of this unique and iconic species. Local artists were asked to create and donate salmon and water-inspired pieces of any medium to be displayed and sold gallery style at Boundary Bay through August 24th. This year more than 50 local artists, including featured artist Laurie Potter, donated their time, talents, and masterpieces to Salmon at the Bay. The vast majority of the participating artists live right here in Bellingham, and every artist resides in Whatcom County.  To see a slideshow of the art from this year (as well as the past two years!), click here.

People who are interested in supporting NSEA in our endeavors to restore sustainable wild salmon runs to Whatcom County can support NSEA in a variety of ways; by becoming an individual or business member of NSEA, by volunteering at a community stream restoration work party in the spring or fall, by adopting a restoration site to maintain with friends and family on a regular basis, by attending NSEA events, and by making lifestyle choices that minimize harmful impacts on local watersheds.

Salmon are a keystone species here in the Pacific Northwest and are an important indicator we have of the health of our coastal ecosystems. Salmon are extremely sensitive to changes in water quality, water quantity, and trophic webs. The more intact, diverse, and productive a freshwater ecosystem is, the healthier the salmon stocks will be. A decline in the ability of a stream or river to support the rearing of young salmon indicates a decline in the overall health of the ecosystem. Salmon carcasses provide rivers and streams with large amounts of marine-derived nutrients that feed aquatic insects, eagles, humans, and even the trees and shrubs growing along the banks. Timothy Egan wrote that, “the Pacific Northwest is any place a salmon can get to,” and I’m inclined to agree.

written by:
Lindsay Taylor
Volunteer Coordinator for NSEA