Salmon Tales from Prince of Wales Island
When you step onto Prince of Wales Island in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, everything feels alive — the rivers shimmer, the trees hum, and the salmon run like clockwork. To help tell that story, Atomic Carrots designed, illustrated, and built 13 outdoor interpretive panels for five sites scattered across this wild and beautiful landscape.
Where Science Meets Storytelling
Each panel was crafted to stand up to Southeast Alaska’s rain-soaked, salt-sprayed climate — and to stand out to curious visitors. Working within U.S. Forest Service design standards, our team blended durability with creativity, turning lessons about ecology and engineering into colorful stories about salmon life, local culture, and forest ecosystems.
We created custom illustrations of salmon, native plants, and fish passes — each one drawn with scientific precision and a splash of personality. Every ripple of water, fern frond, and fin was designed to feel real enough to touch, bringing the region’s unique biodiversity to life.
Following the Salmon’s Journey
From the Big Lake Fish Pass to Cable Creek’s cascading waters, the panels trace the incredible voyage of Pacific salmon. The voyage begins with tiny eggs in gravel beds to ocean wanderers and finally back home to spawn. Titles like “From Stream to Sea” and “Nourishing the Wild” invite visitors to follow this cycle and discover how salmon feed not just bears and eagles, but entire forests.
Culture Flows Through the Current
Prince of Wales Island isn’t just home to salmon — it’s home to stories. Indigenous communities including the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples have honored the salmon for thousands of years. They have passed down songs and traditions tied to each season’s return. Artist Jeffery Sheakley Jr., who is half Tlingit and half Haida, captured this connection in a striking formline salmon design, celebrating the living bond between people and fish.
Built for the elements and designed for discovery, these panels turn each fish pass and lakeshore into a living classroom. Visitors don’t just read about the salmon’s journey — they feel part of it.
Through art, storytelling, and a bit of carpentry magic, Atomic Carrots helped share the timeless rhythm of life in the Tongass — one panel (and one splash) at a time.
