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FISH's mission is to advocate retaining and improving the historic salmon hatchery and to promote watershed stewardship through education.
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 Time to sign up for Salmon Science Camp
Summer program includes "Little Fry" preschool camp
It's time to enroll in FISH's popular Summer Salmon Science Camp and Little Fry Preschool Camp. The week-long day camps for school-aged children turn students into junior scientists. And new this year is FISH's Little Fry half-day camp for preschoolers from 3 to 5 years of age.
During the summer salmon science camp, students will have fun learning all about the salmon life cycle and watershed stewardship as they conduct a water quality and aquatic insect study of Issaquah Creek, perform experiments, go on a nature hike, make arts and crafts, play games, use microscopes, hear Native American legends and more!
Camp runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Camp dates are:
· Ages 6-8: July 12-16 or July 19-23 or July 26-30 or Aug. 9-13
· Ages 9-11: Aug. 2-6
· Cost: $175 for FISH members and $205 for non-members
During Little Fry camp, students find out the answers to "Where do salmon live? And who lives near the salmon?" Little Fry campers will explore the salmon hatchery and Issaquah Creek, create an animal track to take home, become a salmon, act like a bug, and sing the songs of water. This camp will encourage the joy of discovery and cultivate a sense of wonder in the environment and in salmon.
Little Fry camp, for ages 3-5, is June 29, 30 and July 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost is $145 for FISH members and $175 for non-members.
Discounts are available for siblings for all camps. Please contact Celina Steiger at celina@issaquahfish.org or call 425-392-8025 for more information or to register for all camps. |
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Join FISH for preschool Super Salmon Sleuths program!
Ever wonder what it's like to be a salmon? This popular spring program teaches preschoolers about the salmon life cycle through engaging games and hands-on activities. Super Salmon Sleuths offers a clever introduction to science for preschoolers.
The program is 1.5 to 2 hours in length and costs $8 per student. Classes are held April 12, May 10 and June 14 (groups can also schedule other dates) from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the hatchery's Watershed Science Center.
Contact Celina Steiger at celina@issaquahfish.org or 425-392-8025 for more information.
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Master Docent David Waggoner honored as Issaquah Grange Man of the Year
It's no surprise to those of us who know David Waggoner that he is being honored as the Issaquah Valley Grange Man of the Year. He has been a dedicated FISH member and volunteer for about a decade, spreading the word about Pacific salmon and watershed stewardship to hundreds if not thousands of hatchery visitors. But that is just the tip of his community service record. He also serves as a docent for the Issaquah Train Depot Museum, is a member of the Issaquah Historical Society, quartermaster of the Issaquah VFW Albert Larson Post, and chairman of the Issaquah Cemetery Board. He also is the driving force behind the Puget Sound chapter of the Freedom Fighters Honor Flight program, which flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the national
World War II memorial. The local chapter flew its first veterans March 22 and 23.
Friends are invited to help honor David during a short ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 26, on the third floor of the Masonic Hall, (the building attached to the Issaquah BrewHouse, next to the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery). The program will be followed by refreshments.
Congratulations, David!
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Fin clipping under way
If you've been by the hatchery recently, you might have noticed the white trailer parked out front. That is where the juvenile salmon fin clipping takes place.
 Hatchery fish are marked by removal of their
adipose fin, a small fin on the fish's back near the tail.
The technique, referred to as "mass marking,"
is used to distinguish hatchery-raised chinook and coho salmon from non-hatchery fish.
Marking offers anglers an easy way to tell
if their catch is a hatchery fish, which may be kept, or a non-hatchery salmon, which
must be released. Marking allows fishing to continue on hatchery
stocks while protecting naturally spawned fish in waters where the two stocks intermingle.
Mass marking by the Washington State
Department of Fish and Wildlife began in 1996 and was implemented in Issaquah for both coho and chinook by 2000. This season's fin clipping began at the end of March and is scheduled to run until late May or early June.
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Try to catch these rainbows
The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery released 10,000 rain bow trout
to Beaver Lake
last month and plan to release another 20,000 rainbows to Pine
Lake by the end of April, in time
for lowland lake fishing season. Another 2,500 rainbows remain on site at the
hatchery for fall release in Beaver Lake.
Both lakes are in the City of Sammamish,
which generously provided a grant to pay for the trout feed.
The hatchery will also release 7,000 rainbow trout in Lake Desire and 4,000 in Lake Shadow, both in Maple Valley.
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Lake Wash. kokanee update
The
State Department of Fish and Wildlife's efforts to raise kokanee are
continuing. Last fall, 41,000 eggs were taken from fish native to
Ebright,
Laughing Jacobs and Lewis creeks.
The
kokanee were spawned in Issaquah, and one batch of eggs was incubated at
the Cedar River sockeye hatchery in Ravensdale and another batch was
taken to the Lakewood fish hatchery.
Plans
called for the kokanee fry to be released into their natal streams at
the end
of March.
The
fry will be tagged with acoustical beacons, which will be picked up by
fixed
hydrophones in the lakes. This will help determine the fish's movement
in the
lakes as they relate to predators.
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Join FISH at Barnes & Noble Bookfair
Event sponsored by Issaquah Women's Club
Barnes & Noble is
hosting a Bookfair on May 1, with a percentage of sales benefiting Friends of
the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. The event will include a host of fun activities
and is sponsored by the Issaquah Women's Club.
If you can't make it to Barnes and Noble on May 1, you can still bring in the
voucher during the week (from May 1-May
6, 2010) and have your purchases benefit FISH.
Can't make it to the store at all during the week? You can still support FISH
by visiting
www.barnesandnoble.com/bookfairs/
When you visit the link from May 1 to May
6, 2010, enter Bookfair ID 10165751 at checkout. Click the voucher
(at left) to visit the Bookfair website.
FISH wishes to thank the Issaquah Women's Club and Barnes & Noble for this
great fund-raising opportunity!
We'd also like to thank you for your support and for doing all you can
to help keep the salmon coming home!
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Learn about hatchery history with Master Docent Grace Reamer
Would you like to learn more about the historic Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, Pacific salmon and FISH?
FISH Master Docent Grace Reamer will give a presentation about the hatchery's history and FISH on Saturday, April 10, at the Issaquah Train Depot. The event is hosted by the Issaquah History Museums
(IHM).
Grace will begin her slide-show presentation and discussion at 11 a.m. Learn more about Pacific salmon and their habitat and find out
how FISH and the state partner to support and
restore salmon and their habitat, and what you can do to help.
The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments
will be served.
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Microsoft Corp.has generously provided FISH with a $10,000 grant to support our education and volunteer programs.
Microsoft's
partnership with FISH goes back many years; the software giant traditionally
supports FISH with an annual grant and also provides donations through its
matching employee giving campaign. The
donation comes at a critical time for FISH as it faces a budget shortfall due
to recent grant cutbacks from legacy supporters whose revenues are lagging from
the recession. We thank Microsoft for recognizing the unique value that FISH provides to the community.
FISH is supported by so many individuals, groups, corporations and agencies. THANK YOU to FISH's loyal supporters, which include the City of Issaquah, Puget Sound Energy Foundation, Cascade Bank, the City of Sammamish and many others!
FOLLOW US. FISH is on Facebook & Twitter. To follow us on Facebook, simply search for "Friends of the Issaquah Salmon" in the search box and join our group!
To follow us on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/issaquahfish
Best "fishes,"
Gestin Suttle
Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery
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