Copper River

Then he pointed to a spot nearby where the blue line of the Copper River curved north.

Without federal protections on the Copper River, Ahtna anglers would risk getting “pushed out,” according to John Sky Starkey, a lawyer representing Ahtna.

Ahtna Inc., a corporation owned by Indigenous shareholders in the Copper River region — some 500 miles east of the Kuskokwim — has also sided with the Biden administration.

This happened to me over and over on two visits for my review earlier this year: a glowing piece of Copper River salmon nigiri placed in front of me by chef Keiji Tsukasaki, or a luscious otoro handroll given from his fingers to mine, then every thought banished, eyes unfocused for a moment of pure, lit-up pleasure.

Last year, Ballinger splurged on gourmet home-cooked meals, such as picking up a Copper River salmon that caught his fancy for a recipe, or buying a head of black garlic and other unusual ingredients “to try out.”