To Christy Slovacek, of Zigzag, it was her sixth salmon toss, and to her it is
an “adventurous part of habitat restoration.”

To Sarah Yates, of Barlow High, it was her first fishy adventure, and to her it
is extra credits for school and as “close to a big fish I’ve ever been.”

To residents of the Mountain, the annual salmon toss is a project to restore
aquatic ecosystem productivity by adding nutrients to nutrient-poor streams
in the area.

It’s also a messy proposition.

This year’s event, held Nov. 14 at Lost Creek Campground, attracted Barlow
High students and local volunteers, all under the supervision of Russ Plaeger
of the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council and Isaac Sanders of the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Plaeger explained the fine points of the operation, Sanders spiked the salmon
carcasses from their containers, and the workers grabbed up the fish and
carried them to the creek for the finale: the perfect toss.

“It’s an outside-the-box educational experience for the students,” Slovacek
said. “I believe in the project and what it’s trying to accomplish. If the runs
come back, we won’t have to do this.”

Slovacek, never caught without her enduring sense of humor, added: “And it’s
done without a morning brandy.”

Yates was not in the front of the line for grabbing up a salmon carcass.

“I don’t even like fish,” she said, backing away from Sanders’ offerings as the
first of the monsters splatted on the snow.

Eventually, Yates was forced to face the inevitable. After all, there were extra
credits at stake. She carefully looped a stringer through the gills and mouth of
her “Moby Dick” and trudged off toward the creek to join the crowd – a Pacific
salmon carcass in tow, skidding willingly over the snow.

Yates’ first toss was a bust. Missing the stream entirely, the carcass bounced
once and settled on top of a rock on the bank.

“It’s just laying there. But I’ll get better,” she said, without a trace of
conviction.

Meanwhile, others were delivering carcasses unerringly into the stream,
against tree trunks and in the shallows where the nutrients would do the most
good.

But Yates stuck with it, finally getting the hang of the distance required.
“My tosses are getting better,” she said after a couple treks to the stream.
“I’m actually getting into it.”

Before long, Yates was a fish-toss veteran, throwing with the best of them.
Freshwater environments are dependent on the ecological process that this
mass transfer of nutrients provides. Historically, large runs of adult Pacific
salmon provided entire watersheds with critical marine-derived nutrients and
organic material. However, declining native salmon runs have truncated this
massive flow of nutrients and organic material resulting in lower nutrient
levels.

This deficiency hinders the recovery of our salmon populations.
The carcasses come from adult salmon that return to the Sandy Hatchery on
Cedar Creek.

The project will enhance fish habitat by increasing stream productivity and the
abundance of prey leading to improved fitness and growth rates of juvenile
salmon.

If the salmon are able to grow to a larger size before they migrate to the
ocean, they have a better chance of surviving the journey.

According to Plaeger, this year’s target rate is to distribute 2,000 pounds of
carcasses per stream mile.

The project’s objectives are to increase the production of naturally spawning
populations of salmon and steelhead in key tributaries of the Sandy River;
increase the production of cutthroat trout and other native fish species;
provide secondary benefits for terrestrial carnivores and birds; and engage
the community in watershed stewardship through a hands-on approach to
learning about salmon and watershed ecology.

The 2009 project is funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board’s
“Small Grant” program. ODFW and the Mt. Hood National Forest provide
vehicles and staff to support the project.