Wrangell Sentinel -

We need to preserve the biggest of the kings

Tyee is a Native word that has several meanings. The Big One is the one that describes a 30-pound or bigger king salmon.

At the south end of Wrangell Island, there are five rivers that at one time had a lot of big kings, like the one that derby winner Gary Smart caught in 2017. Not all kings are created equal, the genetic strain is what makes the big ones so special. If we lose this genetic strain, it will be lost forever.

More than 70 years ago, the sportsmen in Ketchikan saw this coming and started the first salmon hatchery in Alaska at Carroll...