About Us

Boise, Idaho 2019

Hi, my name is Topher and I live in Boise, Idaho. Last year in the fifth-grade, my science class studied fish native to Idaho and the Western USA including trout and salmon. During that time I learned how fish fit into the Idaho ecosystem. This included learning about the spawning and migration salmon make to the Pacific Ocean, and the incredible 900 mile journey to return - against the odds - to the Idaho streams and lakes where they were spawned.  Sadly, I also learned that the number of salmon returning to Idaho and many other Western States have declined by a lot.

This is important because scientists are learning that ocean running fish, such as the Sockeye and other salmon are critical to both ocean and river health. I read one article where scientists are saying that recent reports of Orca Whales starving in the Pacific is due to a lower number of fish they eat, including salmon, in the ocean.  

This summer I visited the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery outside of Stanley, Idaho near Redfish Lake - a lake that was named for the high number of salmon that used to return to spawn and die. At the hatchery, I saw the hatchery’s recording of the salmon making it back from the ocean. In 1992, only one sockeye salmon returned from the ocean. Out of the thousands of fish that hatched out of their eggs, only one returned. People named him “Lonesome Larry”. The numbers today are still way too low and these fish need help. It was that Sockeye Salmon, “Lonesome Larry”, who inspired me to take action and try to help save the Salmon in Idaho and across the Western USA.  

Please join me in my mission!   People can help save the Sockeye Salmon and other threatened fish by buying one or more of our Sockeye Salmon socks. My family has already donated $500 to help fund research and conservation efforts at non-profit partner organizations based in the Western USA including the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 

One day, I hope to close the Lonesome Larry Project® because we don’t need to support the salmon anymore. I want to have live in a world where salmon in the West have a high chance of making it back from the ocean and my kids can enjoy them as much as I do!