On Saturday, Oct. 4, you can learn to identify different species of salmon and their redds (nests) in streams. From 9am to 1pm, at the old Northern State facility in Sedro-Woolley, the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group will hold that class. Then you will go out, weekly, to various restored stream sites from late October through January. You will monitor and document the fish populations and that will help judge the effectiveness of the restoration projects and also help determine escapement goals for future fishing seasons. See sign-up details in calendar below. This is a great way to get out in the streams, see some pretty sites, and do some good for the salmons!
By the way, the parking lot at the Swinomish Casino on Highway 20 near the twin bridges has now been paved with pervious asphalt. Some asphalt showed up in a hurry and they just snuck in the job, so we could not get a prior notice to go watch! HOWEVER – you can drive into the new lot (it is real dark black still) and dump some water on it. Pretty interesting. Better yet, go during the rain ….
Speaking of rain … it rained last Saturday, Sept 20 .. right on the Fidalgo Bay Day celebration! Didn’t stop over 200 folks from coming though. We were doing water quality measuring demonstrations and took advantage of the new rain to scoop up a little sample of water from a fresh puddle in the parking lot. Turbidity? … 190. Turbidity of coffee? … 45. Turbidity of water scooped from Fidalgo Bay at the dock? 0. Turbidity that construction sites must not exceed for run off? … 250. Lesson? Just a little rain picks up a LOT of crud from parking lots. Much of it eventually flows into our waterways.
And more about rain … they had a drill in Mount Vernon Thursday, Sept 25, in the morning. They put up the portable floodwall that runs along just east of the revetment parking area. Quite an operation .. took about 4 hours and goes from the bridge almost to Kincaid Street. It’s many sections each about 4 feet tall and WAY easier than sandbags! One of the guys doing it told me that these portable walls are in use all around the globe but none has yet had to withstand a real flood! We might be the first later this fall … hope not … I work in one of those old buildings between the wall and the river!!!
The Local-Organization-You-Might-Want-To-Be-Involved-With this week is all the farms that are open for the upcoming Farm Tour/Festival of Family Farms! Go pay them a visit and try their wares! Bring some out-of-town guests too.
Here are some near-term activities to consider:
Sat. Sept. 27 Puget Sound Kids Day 1:00pm – 3:00pm Padilla Bay Interpretive Center on Bayview-Edison Rd. Just show up!
Sat. Sept. 27 Celebrate Skagit Harvest Dinner and Auction 5:30pm – 9:30pm St. Joseph Center, 215 N. 15th, Mt. Vernon $65 Call 336-3974 for info and reservations. Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland http://www.Skagitonians.org
Sat. Oct. 4 Native Plant Nursery Workday 9:00am – 2:00pm Marblemount Ranger Station Potluck lunch.
Sat. Oct. 4 Spawner Survey Workshop 9:00am – 1:00pm Northern State, Sedro-Woolley Learn to monitor stream restoration sites for spawning salmon, must be able to do weekly monitoring late Oct. – January. Register (or more info)
Sat., Sun. Oct. 4, 5 Skagit Valley Farm Tour 10:00am – 4:00pm 10th annual – 13 farms! http://www.farmtour.com for more info, map.
Sat. Oct. 11 Friends Of The Forest annual Benefit 6:00pm – midnight Fidalgo Bay Resort Tickets $50, event sells out fast. http://www.friendsoftheacfl.org for more info
Many similar events and activities and opportunities are posted on the GoSkagit Event Calendar. Check it often!
(This blog is a service of the Skagit Conservation Education Alliance (SCEA) http://www.skagitwater.org Your comments will be helpful. New ideas to consider, and changes we should make are especially welcome. Corrections and further enlightenment will help as well. You can email to . Thank you.)
