Salmon Studies

 Salmon Field Trip at Bonneville Dam  

Guest author: Double Creek Student, E.

This September, after studying salmon, Double Creek School took a trip to Bonneville Dam and Hatchery to meet native fish face-to-face. At the hatchery, there were large ponds where we could see fish. We saw 10-13 foot long sturgeon fish in an underground viewing area. Next, we went to a trail that led us to a pond with 18 to 24 inch trout. We shared a bag of small cylindrical fish pellets that we bought from a nearby vending machine. It was fun to see the fish fight for the food we gave them. We walked over to the salmon spawning area. We had a lot of fish to see because it was the salmon season. There, hatchery salmon jumped up, splashing water all over us! We watched as they struggled to go up these ladders. No matter how hard the current was, these fish never gave up. They went on and on, looking for an opening in the waters. There was also a tour guide who led us to a building, called the First Power House. In there, we saw turbines. Our guide explained how Bonneville Dam started out. The Bonneville Dam started at 1938, a dam which helped repopulate the salmon. The people who work there is willing to spend the money and time to help this fish. fish. - Student of Double Creek School, E. October 15, 2018

We kicked off our Oregon history unit by studying salmon. After learning about the natural and human threats faced by salmon during different stages of their life cycle, the children made a board game following salmon migration.  The goal of the game is to make it past predators, dams and other hazards to spawn back where you were born, not such as easy feat!

At the Bonneville Fish Hatchery the students saw ponds of young fish being reared for release in the river. Though hatcheries have been in use for over 100 years in this area, we know that the success of hatchery fish, relative to wild fish, is limited by a number of factors including reduced genetic variation and the greater susceptibility to predators that comes with learning to feed at the surface in captivity.

We spent some time at the fish counting window. All fish passing the dam are funneled into a narrow channel and they are counted to monitor populations. The fish below are hatchery fish. You can tell by the clipped adipose fin (top fin near tail).

Touring the Bonneville Dam gave students a chance to see the positive side of dams: clean hydro-electric power. We also learned about the major efforts being made to make the dams more salmon friendly both for young fish and those returning to spawn. Go salmon!