Kokanee: The Redfish and the Kootenay Bioregion

by Don Gayton

The Kootenays a region of rivers, lakes and mountains in southeastern British Columbia is home to the kokanee. This landlocked sibling of the sockeye salmon is an extravagant gift from the Pacific Ocean, an elusive flash of molten silver, a lustful reproductive torrent of fire-engine red, a marvel of interior adaptation, an icon of regional culture, and a pawn of industry. In Kokanee: The Redfish and the Kootenay Bioregion, writer and ecologist Don Gayton tells the kokanee's story, from the cataclysmic Ice Age events that gave birth to the species through its heyday as a sporting fish, to current threats to its existence. The story of the kokanee is the story of the delicate balance between land and water, and between people and nature. Kokanee: The Redfish and the Kootenay Bioregion is Number 9 in the Transmontanus series of books edited by Terry Glavin.

Paperback

First published October 24, 2002

About the author

Don’s writing is inspired by unique and wide-ranging life experience. Growing up on the US west coast, he attends a multi-racial high school in Seattle, followed by a hitchhiking stint around Europe. After two years of university he joins the US Peace Corps, working with peasant farmers in rural Colombia. Returning to the US in the late Sixties, he joins student protest movements against the war in Vietnam. Finishing an undergraduate degree, he works on cattle ranches in eastern Washington. Persisting in his opposition to the Vietnam war and the draft, Gayton and his young family immigrate to Canada, beginning a new life in Saskatchewan. After finishing his Master's degree at the U of S, Don works with small farmers on the Indian Reserves.
In 1990 Don and his family move to Nelson, BC, where he works as a range manager for the BC Forest Service. During this time he deepens his lifelong association with grasslands, and acquires a new interest in fire ecology. After retiring and moving to Summerland, in the BC Okanagan, Don starts a new career as a consulting ecologist.
Don's first novel, Columbia Son, will be published in summer 2026.