Salmon Watch program introduces next generation to their natural heritage on McKenzie River
As salmon return to spawn throughout the Willamette and McKenzie watersheds, volunteers return to take local students upriver to witness the natural phenomenon.
Like the salmon themselves, the Salmon Watch program comes back every fall as watershed councils across the state partner with schools for an experiential field trip centered on salmon ecology. It’s a special lesson that some students remember for the rest of their lives.
“Salmon Watch is such a great way for students to learn about their ecology that they’re a part of – and salmon are just so exciting to see!” said Carrie Patterson, Agnes Stewart Middle School teacher and Salmon Watch Steering Committee member. “Too many of my students haven't been able to go up the McKenzie – a crown jewel of our area – that people come from around the world to fish and visit and this a great way to bring them out to experience it.”
On their Salmon Watch field trip, students learn about salmon ecology as they rotate through four stations. At the water quality station, students take samples from the stream to test water temperature, turbidity, and pH. At the macroinvertebrate station, they identify the insects salmon eat, and at the riparian ecology station they learn about the importance of healthy streamside forests.
It's the fish biology station, however, that makes a lasting impression. Going through the station is often the first time many students ever see Chinook salmon in the wild.
Watching salmon spawn is unforgettable.
“Being a part of the Salmon Watch is a magical experience. Students, educators, and volunteers join together as a community of learners to discover and appreciate the interconnectedness of the ecosystem. The wonder that is nurtured within the Salmon Watch program has a long lasting positive impact on students and their relationship to the natural world,” said Dassy Smolianski, who coordinates Salmon Watch for the Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council.
EWEB often hosts the Salmon Watch experience at the Trail Bridge Hydroelectric Project Spawning Channel. EWEB recently finished upgrading the Spawning Channel as part of relicensing the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project. Habitat improvements include improving spawning gravels for adults to lay their eggs, creating riffles to oxygenate the water for egg development, and pools to slow the flow for juvenile fish once they’ve hatched.
This summer, EWEB added large wood structures and planted additional trees to provide cover along the spawning channel – habitat features that protect young fish by providing shelter and habitat for their prey.
“We are all so excited to see the new habitat in the expanded spawning channel because we know it will be both excellent spawning grounds and a place to inspire kids to care for the Chinook that return every year to complete their lifecycle,” said EWEB’s Patty Boyle, who oversees contracts for the efforts to relicense the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project. “We hope that experiencing special natural areas like this will encourage healthy, active, and outdoorsy lifestyles for our students.”
Although Salmon Watch is not quite as miraculous as the journey of spawning salmon, it relies upon a healthy community of volunteers to pull off. Volunteers come from EWEB, local watershed councils, the Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, National Forest Service, and retired teachers.
