PORTLAND, Ore. – A class of 30 Reynolds Middle School students will study salmon habitat with Oregon Trout’s Salmon Watch® program at Eagle Creek Recreation Area Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. Representatives from Pacific Power will be on hand to present Salmon Watch a $4,000 check for its educational outreach.

To get to Eagle Creek from Portland, take I-84 eastbound to exit 41. There will be a sign, Fish Hatchery/Eagle Creek Rec. Area. The exit is just past the Bonneville Dam exit.  

Salmon Watch is a collaborative, field-oriented environmental education program for middle and high school students. The program teaches youth about the importance of watershed stewardship, focusing on how salmon can be an effective indicator of watershed health.

At Eagle Creek, students will achieve three things: They’ll get a lesson on riparian vegetation; conduct chemistry experiments on the water to measure dissolved oxygen, water temperature, and turbidity to see if the stream is clear and healthy for fish; and students will watch, monitor and count active salmon spawning activity in the river.

“Salmon Watch provides a hands-on, minds-on approach for connecting kids with their home waters,” said Alan Horton, managing director of Oregon Trout. “Students get real-world, inquiry-based practice, connecting study in the classroom with actual experience on a stream. There’s nothing else like it in Oregon, and support from PacifiCorp helps make it possible.”

“PacifiCorp has been a supporter of the Salmon Watch program for a number of years,” said Todd Olson, PacifiCorp’s hydro resources implementation program manager. “Several of our aquatic biologists participate in field trips with students, and this grant is just another way we show our support."

Salmon Watch fulfills a unique need for experiential science-based education. Its classroom instruction is tied directly to state biology benchmarks and provides hands-on field experience at local watersheds and community service projects. It has reached more than 50,000 students throughout Oregon since 1993.

Media inquiries: newsdesk@pacificorp.com