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With the clock winding down on the period for submitting comments to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the proposed Pebble Mine, Bristol Bay salmon fishermen are proposing a novel way to encourage friends and family to add their two cents worth. They've encouraging participation in the Bristol Bay Dinner Party Challenge this weekend.

Here's the deal. You invite friends over for a simple dinner party this weekend and challenge three other friends to do likewise. All you have to do is throw a salmon-themed dinner that's coupled with a movie and a little education about the famous Bristol Bay salmon resource and why the proposed Pebble Mine threatens it, and you ask your guests to submit comments to the EPA by the Friday, Sept. 19 deadline.

The good news is you don't have to be Martha Stewart to host this shindig. The dinner parties can be big or small and as simple or complex as you please. Fire up some wild Bristol Bay sockeye on the grill, or maybe offer up some smoked sockeye, cheese and crackers. Make it a potluck dinner and invite your guests to bring their favorite wild salmon dish. It's all good.

Then after dinner, fire up the popcorn popper so that you and guests have the proper movie-viewing snack while watching "In the Same Boat," Elijah Lawson's documentary about the Bristol Bay fishing lifestyle and the salmon runs that the large scale mine threatens. There are other short videos like the one below that can also be shown, too.

And then to wrap things up, you invite your guests to fill out an EPA comment post card or submit them online. They can fill out the postcards as a group or even pen their own custom letter to submit. Comments must be submitted to the EPA by the Friday, Sept. 19 deadline.

Even better, the group Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay makes hosting the dinner even easier. If you go to their website to sign up for the dinner party challenge, they'll provide you with a packet of resources that includes recipe cards and public comment cards.

You can download the documentary and other videos there as well as other educational resources and you'll find the link for your guests to submit their comments online. It seems like the least your guests could do after enjoying good food and getting a little food for thought, to boot.

 

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