Salmon BACK IN the Classroom?

Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin may have saved the day on the "Seattle in the Classroom" program, at least for Seattle Schools.

Councilmember Conlin leaves no doubt that he
loves our salmon!

According to the satirical news blog Seattle Salmon, Councilmember Conlin has seen to it that SPU look high and low for a solution to the funding problem to ensure that this program is continued in Seattle Schools.


Seattle Salmon, is normally a media outlet that one would not look to for the straight story. But, for whatever reason they posted the below story:



Way to go Councilmember!  This is a great program to preserve the link for kids to real fish in real streams. Now, we just need to make sure the little fry can swim downstream and upstream in our local creeks. Will WDFW let the kids release the salmon in Thornton Creek?

City of Seattle to preserve “Salmon in Schools” education

Seattle City Council and Seattle Public Utilities exploring all options to save program

Seattle – The Salmon in Schools program, cut by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) last fall as part of the State’s 2010-2011 fiscal year budget reductions, will likely continue in Seattle schools.

Upon learning that WDFW may no longer fund the statewide program, Seattle Council President Richard Conlin requested that Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) find a way to support the program for Seattle school children.  SPU is offering additional support for the program at a cost of $10,000 per year through the Restore Our Waters program.

“Environmental stewardship starts young,” said Council President Richard Conlin. “Kids learn best by seeing and interacting with nature and wildlife.  The Salmon in Schools program is a successful example of hands-on education.  I had to do something to preserve this valuable resource, and I hope that other municipalities and organizations around the state will do the same.”

The Salmon in Schools program, established in 1991, is an educational project that encourages respect for our aquatic resources and promotes responsible behavior toward the environment.  Large tanks and salmon eggs are provided to both public and private schools and students learn about the salmon lifecycle and the interrelationships between water quality and habitat issues by watching the salmon hatch and grow into fry.  Eggs are provided by state and tribal hatcheries.  The salmon are released into local streams after about 12 weeks.  Statewide, an average of 495 schools participated each year, reaching 40,000 students.  Approximately 50 of those schools are in Seattle.

In addition to supplying the eggs and providing and maintaining the tanks, WDFW funding has supported administering the permits necessary to release the salmon into the streams.  All schools raising salmon require permits and staffing the administration of these permits will need to be resolved for the program to continue.

WDFW is exploring ways to continue the program with private or non-profit funding if the cuts become permanent, and in the meantime SPU has offered to assume the cost of  maintaining the tanks used in Seattle schools. SPU will also continue partnering with local watershed groups, Seattle school district staff, and teachers to implement and maintain the educational component of the program.

“This program is an engaging way for youth to garner an understanding of the important connections between salmon and healthy waters,” said Ray Hoffman, Director of Seattle Public Utilities.

For this year, salmon eggs have already been delivered to schools across the City and kids and grown-ups alike are excited to watch them hatch, grow and swim away down one of Seattle’s streams.

Friends of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery Response

Salmon in the Classroom Issue Elicits Response

Gestin Suttle representing Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery group has requested an opportunity to reply to our article last week on Salmon in the Classroom program being discontinued. They are a non-profit that supports the work of the salmon hatchery as an economic development factor in their community.
http://www.issaquahfish.org/hatchery/index.html

Her reply as follows:

I would like to clarify that the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery has provided eggs to Seattle School District. Seattle Schools retrieved 6,000 eggs on 1/18/11. The participating schools are Bagley, Beacon Hill, Bryant, Cooper, Dearborn Park, Dunlap, Graham Hill, Laurelhurst, Lowell, McGilvra, Montlake, Olympic Hills, Olympic View, Roxhill, Stevens, Summit Alt., Tops/Seward, Van Asselt, & View Ridge.

Thornton Creek is listed as one of the viable release sites (other creeks within the Lake Washington watershed are also listed as acceptable release sites).

I cannot address the situation with the University of Washington, however, it is unfortunately true that the Washington State Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) has cut the Salmon in the Classroom program statewide – this affects not only Seattle Schools but all schools that participated in the program. While I do not speak for WDFW, I can say that the department is exploring ways to maintain the program in the future – options might include using private funding to maintain the program at WDFW, or finding one or more non-profits that would be interested in assuming responsibility for administration of the program in certain communities or statewide.

Meanwhile, any school that had already obtained its permit to raise eggs this year (and which turned in the necessary documentation – as required – in order to do so) that is within the Lake Washington Watershed has been able to pick up eggs from the Issaquah Hatchery. (I cannot address the situation outside the Lake Washington system).

This is an extremely valuable education program and we fully support its continuation.

-          Gestin Suttle, executive director, Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery

Salmon in the Classroom Program - A Victim of Budget Cuts?

The Salmon in the Classroom programs have been a fixture of our elementary school curriculum for a couple generations now in the Puget Sound region. Educators sought to instill the natural interest, curiosity of kids and environmental values by providing experiential learning opportunities.

Scientists and students at UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Science monitor salmon

The "Salmon in the Classroom" projects have been a yearly event that created excitement and anticipation of fullfilling a worthwhile goal for students. Kids participated actively, by feeding, checking water temperature and doing the final salmon fry releases into local creeks.

In Seattle, the largest watershed is Thornton Creek. It is salmonid habitat, with at least five species of salmon - coho, chinook, sockeye, cutthroat and even steelhead. Salmon fry releases by students have been a fixture in Thornton Creek and several of the other largest watersheds in the City.

But now sadly, the programs may be coming to a halt due to budget worries and water quality concerns. Typically, the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences hatchery has supplied teachers and classes, grades 1-6 with the eggs in carefully controlled programs.

"Eyed" salmon eggs from Issaquah Hatchery

Every year 40,000 schoolchildren in WA State have been introduced and participated in the lives of salmon. But now, WDFW (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) which manages the resource and which is facing the same drastic cuts every State Department faces, has had to eliminate the program as a result of the last special session of the Legislature. According to an article in Seattle Times WDFW Program Manager Christy Vassar says, 

"We are sorry to lose the program. Tens of thousands of young people learned about the natural world for the last 20 years, but these are extremely tough economic times, and all state agencies are required to cut back." 

Spawning salmon being "crowded" into pens to be sorted at hatchery

The funds had originally come from the federal government, but now the funds will have to be used elsewhere. The amount seems relatively small for a statewide program (my editorial judgement). Cutting the program will save $110,000 for this school year. It costs the schools nothing. Many of the schools have existing equipment which could still be used if it still functions if they were able to get the salmon eggs. But there is also another problem for the schools in the Thornton Creek Watershed such as Olympic Hills Elementary (in the Hamlin Creek Basin on Thornton Creek's North Branch).

According to those familiar with that local program, the Issaquah Hatchery has prohibited the classrooms in Seattle from releasing salmon (nor are they to receive the eggs for such a release) into Thornton Creek!

Thornton Creek and other urbanized watersheds have experience problems for spawning coho. There is a "pre-spawn mortality" problem which has been documented. This is likely due to stormwater runoff in these streams. The runoff is said to contain a toxic mix of sediments, petroleum based products and metals such as copper. The copper comes from brakepads from motor vehicles. The copper IS going to be phased out over the next few years, because a bill was passed last session to ban it within several years.

So, according to sources who know, the Issaquah Hatchery has been able to now put the kiebash on salmon releases in Thornton Creek. It appears that there is actual discrimination going on against our urban streams and our urban classrooms in effect!

In our opinion (Of Paramount Importance), this is a very bad policy for so many reasons.

First of all it's clear that urban school children are now going to be denied the experiential learning that past generations received and a first hand knowledge about salmon streams. This is very wrong educationally and culturally.

Second of all, the $110,000 seems like a large amount of money, but spread across the entire state it was actual an incredible bargain to provide this educational benefit that instilled the value of salmon and their habitat in 40,000 school children. This is a colossal budget misjudgement. What other statewide program offers so much tangible and hands-on scientific understanding to so many children for so little?

Third, why does the Issaquah Hatchery have jurisdiction over Seattle School Children and their families and over Seattle's largest watershed? This is where the taxpayers are in this state who provide the bulk of the tax dollars for Issaquah's watersheds. Seattle and Shoreline have been faithful participants in the WRIA8 (Water Resource Inventory Assessment for the Cedar/Lake WA Watershed).  And they have unselfishly provided funding to restore watersheds all throughout the basin, with little tangible benefit to our cities' watersheds, except for small programs like "Salmon in the Classroom".

What can be done? Tell your legislators. Tell your City and County Councilmembers.  Tell WDFW.

We have a voice and if we really still care about our salmon, and having a legacy for our kids and grandkids to remember what it was like to have salmon in our local streams, we can use our voices to make a difference!


Sure there are so many worthy programs being cut and this is just one more. But, it seems disproportionate to cut one of the few experiential programs that kids really get excited about, and one which actually costs so little.


Let's invest in our future. Invest in knowledge about the environment and our iconic salmon culture. How will kids really learn  about salmon if they are only seen in  history books? 


Oh wait! They're also cutting back on history too. If it's not on the WASL........ forget it! 


Just my 2 cents for salmon! 


Janet