Students learn about salmon

The doors to the world they live in opened wider Tuesday, October 6, when 32 students from Molly Grove's sixth-grade class at Pilot Butte Middle School in Bend began exploring the ecosystem of the Metolius River.

They were there thanks to the efforts of Salmon Watch, an education program within The Freshwater Trust's Healthy Waters Institute.

It was a cold fall morning on the river, but the students didn't seem to mind the chill as they were introduced to the river's biology, chemistry and fisheries by four volunteers, all experts in their field.

James Bartlett, PGE fisheries biologist (AKA a "fish-squeezer") was ready for the first group of students eager to learn more about the fish that ply the Metolius. About 100 yards upriver, Larry Morse, water quality specialist for the City of Redmond, was preparing his tools for teaching the students about the chemistry and quality of the river waters.

To round out the team of teachers, Matt Shinderman, biology professor at the OSU Cascade Campus provided the students an opportunity the see, feel and learn about macro-invertebrates of the Metolius. When he asked the students about the role of invertebrates in the river, one responded, "To keep the river clean of debris, and provide prey for fish."

Aaron Maxwell, biologist with the Deschutes River Conservancy presented the role of the riparian zone (plant life on the banks of the river) and how vital this sensitive zone is to the welfare of river, fisheries and surrounding ecosystem.

There are times when middle school students just love to squeal and shudder when confronted by things that they usually think of as "gross," like the entrails of animals. When Bartlett presented the students with what was, for most of them, their first glimpse of the innards of a fish, not one squeal was heard; nothing but questions and answers about air bladders, kidneys, fish eggs, gills and skin color was heard.

As the students donned polarized goggles to look into the river, one of the boys suddenly shouted, "Hey! There's fish in there!"

When Bartlett asked how many eggs could be laid in the redds being created by the kokanee the students were watching spawning in the gravel near the banks, one of the students immediately responded, "Anywhere from 500 to 1,000 eggs." When asked about the red color of spawning fish, another piped up, "When the fish turn red that means they're eating themselves up, using the energy of their bodies."

The same student attitude was true when Aaron Maxwell asked the students about the importance of the forest on the banks of the river. A sixth grader said, "To keep salmon in the river it is important to have trees along the banks that provide nutrients and keep the rain from eroding the soils." Another chimed in, "Yeah, and the spongy soils soak up the excess water." Others responded with comments on osprey and bald eagles that nest in the trees along the river and prey on salmon, while others learned about the role of river otters on the fisheries.

City of Redmond water quality specialist, Larry Morse, introduced the students to the techniques of investigating the four most important tests for fish health in the Metolius River: Turbidity; temperature; pH (which was, the students discovered, at 7.0, perfect for salmon); dissolved oxygen.

When asked about the trees recently placed in the river, all four specialists commented on how they created cover, and greater stream quality for salmon.

As a complement to their field experience on the Metolius, students are encouraged to stay involved with Salmon Watch by participating in a local restoration project, a hands-on opportunity to learn about the health of their home watershed while they actively restore it.