CHS Students take part in “Fish Eggs to Fry” Program

AS has been witnessed in recent times, continued financial stresses to local education systems have caused a decline in the ability for local students to participate in hands-on learning experiences via field trips, workshops and other extra-curricular activities students have enjoyed more fully in the past.

The Gilliam County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Gilliam-East John Day Watershed Council have initiated a program to help offset the loss and promote conservation knowledge among students.

In an effort to mitigate that solution, On February 4^th, Sasha Twelker with the Gilliam-East John Day Watershed, introduced the inaugural “Fish Eggs to Fry” program designed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, to Michelle Densmore’s biology class at Condon High School.

Twelker delivered live fish eggs to the biology students who will be responsible for their development into small fry. When the fish are ready, the students will travel to a preselected location to release them into a pond.

Both Densmore and Twelker believe this program will teach students about aquatic habitat typing, macro-invertebrates, water quality monitoring, and watershed mapping. In addition, the program is designed to help students understand not only the physical habitat characteristics needed for fish survival, but the social and economic issues surrounding fishery resources in Oregon and the Northwest.

Published in Times-Journal of Condon, OR on February 25, 2010