JoseCuervo
New member
It is sad when you get 1000 people to show up, but only 6 sockeye... 
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The weekend of August 28 and 29 had special meaning for the residents of Stanley. It was a time to celebrate one of the areas natural wonders, the annual return of the spawning Chinook and the Sockeye Salmon. Historically, the salmon have returned to this area to spawn near the headwaters of the Salmon River.
Festivities in Stanley included live music, vendor booths, poetry readings, Native American traditional dancing and visits to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. At any one time, hundreds of visitors could be seen dancing on the grass or visiting a vendor booth.
Idaho Rivers United was a strong presence at the festivities. The conservation group, dedicated to the protection of Idaho waters, bussed over two hundred visitors to the river to view fish spawning in the wild, according to IRU member Brent Bowlers. Bowlers felt the fourth Salmon Festival was a great success as more than 1,000 people attended the event. The IRU booth was busy selling tee-shirts exclaiming “Extinction is not an option” and gathering signatures for a petition in support of their cause.
The Sawtooth Fish Hatchery opened its doors to hundreds of visitors through out the weekend. The main draw being the chance to see operators empty the fish traps where Chinook and Sockeye salmon are held. At last count, nearly 1,800 Chinook and six Sockeye had returned to their birthplace.
The hatchery is a technological wonder. The Sawtooth Mountains surrounding the area make for a severe winter. The hatchery was built in 1984 and was designed to meet those extreme environmental challenges. Water pipes are buried deep in the earth, about seven feet, to prevent freezing and foundations were set below the frost line as well.
The job of this hatchery is to deal with salmon and steelhead, exclusively. Approximately two-thirds of the salmon which reach this facility will be detained to harvest their eggs and sperm, thereby ensuring the next generation of hatchery smolts. The remaining one-third are allowed to pass through the facility to spawn naturally. During this period hundreds of fully mature Chinook can be seen in the fish runs.
If the goal of the Salmon Festival was to provide information and celebrate Idaho’s salmon, it was a great success. Hundreds of people were given the opportunity to witness salmon doing what they do best, spawn in our wild rivers.
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The weekend of August 28 and 29 had special meaning for the residents of Stanley. It was a time to celebrate one of the areas natural wonders, the annual return of the spawning Chinook and the Sockeye Salmon. Historically, the salmon have returned to this area to spawn near the headwaters of the Salmon River.
Festivities in Stanley included live music, vendor booths, poetry readings, Native American traditional dancing and visits to the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery. At any one time, hundreds of visitors could be seen dancing on the grass or visiting a vendor booth.
Idaho Rivers United was a strong presence at the festivities. The conservation group, dedicated to the protection of Idaho waters, bussed over two hundred visitors to the river to view fish spawning in the wild, according to IRU member Brent Bowlers. Bowlers felt the fourth Salmon Festival was a great success as more than 1,000 people attended the event. The IRU booth was busy selling tee-shirts exclaiming “Extinction is not an option” and gathering signatures for a petition in support of their cause.
The Sawtooth Fish Hatchery opened its doors to hundreds of visitors through out the weekend. The main draw being the chance to see operators empty the fish traps where Chinook and Sockeye salmon are held. At last count, nearly 1,800 Chinook and six Sockeye had returned to their birthplace.
The hatchery is a technological wonder. The Sawtooth Mountains surrounding the area make for a severe winter. The hatchery was built in 1984 and was designed to meet those extreme environmental challenges. Water pipes are buried deep in the earth, about seven feet, to prevent freezing and foundations were set below the frost line as well.
The job of this hatchery is to deal with salmon and steelhead, exclusively. Approximately two-thirds of the salmon which reach this facility will be detained to harvest their eggs and sperm, thereby ensuring the next generation of hatchery smolts. The remaining one-third are allowed to pass through the facility to spawn naturally. During this period hundreds of fully mature Chinook can be seen in the fish runs.
If the goal of the Salmon Festival was to provide information and celebrate Idaho’s salmon, it was a great success. Hundreds of people were given the opportunity to witness salmon doing what they do best, spawn in our wild rivers.
