Anadromous

Yesterday I went to Theler (the wetlands) and went running, got new books from the library, and did some grocery shopping. After my run I received the sweetest phone call from a ranger telling me to go visit his wife (who I know and already adore) so she could introduce me to some coworkers who were my age. I went over to the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group office and got to meet some of the people who work over there. Today I went back and volunteered for the day (which counted as work). We were moving salmon (and other fish) from downstream to further upstream so that a crew could come in and remove the dike and reroute the stream to provide better salmon habitat. Our goal was to protect as much of the fry and smolt still in the stream. We shocked the fish so that, stunned, they would come to the surface so we could scoop them up. Shortly after, most of them would recover and start swimming around. A couple of times I wore the 80 pound backpack that carried the battery and wires. I also took a load up the stream (over a mile upstream…we had a van) and put them back in the river in a nice pool.
We all worked very well together and it was quite satisfying. We had a crew of four guys and me, all working to catch fish that sometimes were no bigger than an inch. We had a few Coho smolt that were probably 7 inches. It was amazing to see these tiny fish in the early stages of their lives and think about all of the obstacles that they will go through before they come back to their (newly engineered) stream. It was great to be out in the field today, and I hope to continue volunteering there.
If anyone is curious about the program I am developing or why we did what we did today please ask. I have tried to avoid the science lessons for those that don’t want to sit through one, but I would love to see what anyone wants to know. Actually, questions in general would be a great way to work this blog, for I feel like my day-to-day can’t be very exciting. Although I love it. Absolutely.

Tomorrow I drive to the Pacific and back.