Doing Dad Stuff

It's been a long time since I've been on a school bus... but that's where I was.  Loaded up and on the road participating in a field trip adventure with Victoria's high school environmental science class, on our way to Whitaker Creek to see spawning Chinook salmon and learn about this threatened species.  How could I pass up a trip like this!   I guess the only downside was that we weren't out fishing, although, learning about how threatened Chinook are makes it tough to want to go out and fish. Anyway, here's a little overview of what we did...

The bus ride there was uneventful, we sat in the back of the bus like the cool kids and I stuck out like a sore thumb.  The teenagers socialized like teens, so I pretty much looked out the window and enjoyed the beautiful Oregon scenery.

On an Adventure

After the hour drive we shuffled off the bus and joined in a big circle for a quick introduction for our visit.  We were greeted by four volunteers that participate in this salmon education program: Dave the retired biologist; Bob, the retired English teacher; Jay, a water quality specialist; and a communications specialist for a local utility.  We broke into small groups to take turns meeting with each volunteer to learn about the various environmental issues affecting salmon populations and general knowledge about these fish as known.

At the Macro Invertebrate Station 

Sampling of Mayflies

The first station we visited was macro invertebrates, they're used as a bio-monitor because their presence or lack thereof is an indication of water quality/health.  Some species are more tolerable to higher pH levels so if moderate or less tolerable species aren't present you can be relatively confident the water pH is higher.  As an example we found only one Caddisfly in our sampling compared to numerous Mayflies which have a higher tolerance.

• Macroinvertebrates of the Pacific Northwest (a pdf field guide)
• USGS pH Water Properties  

Caddisfly

For our second station we visited with Bob, the retired English teacher, and he shared his knowledge of what a riparian zone is.  He explained the basic definition, it's importance to life, and the four important factors that make up a riparian zone -- words starting with S, S, F, & F was our clue.  The first S was for Shade, waterways need shade to keep water temperatures low to allow the water to hold more oxygen to support aquatic life.  The second S was for Structure, the riparian zone consists of structure that provides habitat for spawning salmon.  As an example, salmon are very particular about the gravel beds in which they create their redds (nests for laying their eggs).  The redds need to allow water flow through the eggs and protection.  The Fs were for Food and Filtration.  The riparian zone provides food and filters water through surrounding roots and structure.

Bob also shared a few stories and poems with us, here's one from a Shoshone Bannock tribal member writing about the loss of a legacy of salmon fishing when Celilo falls were covered from a dam on the Columbia River.

Celilo Fishermen

you made your nets

& tested the knots

seeing that they held.

little did you know

what was to hold you

after the sound of

water falling

over what

used to be.

 -- Ed Edmo, from "These Few Words of Mine."

Our third station was a visit with Dave, a retired biologist.  He discussed the life cycle of salmon and things we know about how they find their way back to the same spawning beds after a spending most of their lives at see.  He mentioned studies of both celestial and geomagnetic migration as possibilities of how the fish navigate and return.  He also discussed their sense of smell as another potential factor in their ability to return to the same stream as their birth.

Eggs to Fry

Stylish Polarized Lenses

Spawning Salmon

Dead Male Salmon

After lunch, our last station was the discussion of water quality lead by Jay.  It was a fun discussion which mainly focused on water temperature factors and pH levels.  Jay was a fun discussion leader that added a lot of humor to his presentation.  The kids got to participate in taking water samples to test for pH level, nitrate level, water temperature, and turbidity.  

Overall the learning experience was about the health of our streams and fisheries, and how biologists use science to help them understand the complex ecosystems to better understand human's interaction.  As Jay pointed out in his departing thoughts, if we consider 'it' nature then we're missing the point and thinking of 'it' as a system that we're not a part of and it's important that we understand what humans do is also a part of nature...

It was a fun educational trip.