Update: On Dec. 24 the Statesman Journal ran an article on this, "Students helping study water quality."
Students from Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School and Karen Hans from Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife came out for their annual fish and macro-invertebrate count. These students are comparing stream health & fish population in various waterways throughout the City of Salem. The big catch of the day was a very large cutthroat trout!
Students set up nets upstream and downstream, then wade through the creek catching fish.
Then they identified and documented each species before setting them free.
They also went through to catch insects; there is a significant correlation between the number of insect species and the presence of fish in any stream. Here they are dividing the macro-invertebrate water samples and identifying them.
They captured a good sized cutthroat trout! Pretty amazing given that we are just three miles from downtown.
Group photo under the Pacific Yew.
--santiago
