Karen Hans, a biologist from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, came out to Pringle Creek Community last week. She brought a group of 8th graders from the Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School. They came out to do a fish count in Pringle Creek.
They found a 5-inch Coho salmon; a 10-inch Cutthroat trout; and a 1-inch trout fry (which was probably also a Cutthroat). The significance of finding the Coho is that it shows there is a certain degree of fish passage between Pringle Creek Community and the Willamette River. The significance of the 1-incher is that it shows that fish are spawning here.
This is very exciting news because it demonstrates how collaborative creek restoration in an urban setting can have a measurable positive impact on fish and wildlife. If we protect the riparian zone and make it more habitable, the fish will return.
-- santiago
