Last Thursday saw a great turnout and delicious potluck table, at the orientation for our second year of Lamprey & Steelhead Surveys. Over 40 people gathered at Johnson Creek Watershed Council’s office, arriving with armfuls of wonderful potluck food.
After settling in, JCWC’s AmeriCorps member, Alexis, gave a short presentation to introduce volunteers to the watershed (from headwaters to foot!) and to contextualize how this volunteer opportunity fits in to the larger work that JCWC does as a whole. Ryan Jacobsen and Alex Neerman of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife presented on Lamprey and Steelhead, showing surveyors how to tell apart different redds and how to record data. Alexis followed up with logistics like scheduling, safety, and what-ifs, and then the interactive part began!
“While you’ve been sitting here, the hallway has been becoming a creek – that’s right, right now you’ll get a chance to participate in a waders-free survey to practice recording different types of data!”
Surveyors finished signing up for survey dates as small groups began walking down the hallway, observing posters of redds and fish, with data sheets printed one-sided on scratch paper – at the end of the hall, they found an example of how data for this mock survey should have been filled out.
Our hardworking surveyors will be visiting 6 watershed sites weekly through May, recording data on spawning brook and Pacific lamprey and steelhead, all native fish species which we know are found throughout Johnson Creek and its tributaries.
