Bike Commuter Challenge May 21, 2010

On Friday May 21st, 2010, the USFWS, Columbia River Fisheries Program Office (CRFPO) participated in a "bike commuter challenge" as part of National Bike to Work Day. The competitors in this friendly challenge included two of our neighboring offices: WACOM, a software development company, and US Geological Survey, Cascades Volcano Observatory. The goal of the challenge was to see how many people from each office would ride their bikes to work on Friday.

The CRFPO quickly organized: bikes were tuned up, routes were planned, and equipment needs such as bike pumps and extra tire tubes were discussed. Those participating in the challenge decided to meet at various points along the route and ride to the office together.

The weather leading up to Friday's big commute was promising- partly cloudy, low 60's, and just a few mild rain showers in the afternoon. Friday morning, however, was a different story. Rain, temps in the upper 40's and a blustery wind. I was pretty sure those who had committed to doing the ride earlier in the week would change their minds once they saw the forecast . I mean even a seasoned commuter would scoff at such conditions!

Despite the wet weather, the CRFPO had 11 people that commuted by bike into work. Our office won the challenge ...by a landslide. The total participation rate per office was: USFWS: 21%, USGS 12% and WACOM 7.7%. We also won for the following categories: total round trip mileage commuted by an office (CRFPO 255 miles, WACOM 153 miles), and total round trip mileage commuted by one person (CRFPO 42 miles, WACOM 31.2 miles).


To quote one of our competitors from WACOM "I caught up with 9 of FWS's riders this morning on my way in, and I was impressed that they had all ridden across the 205 bridge together. Not only that, but they wanted to make the group ride a monthly event!"

The following week we had a community, lunchtime potluck with our competitors, and we collectively celebrated everyone's participation in the challenge. The potluck also provided a forum for discussing how we can reduce our carbon footprint in an office environment.

To learn more about the Federal Green Challenge and how you can help reduce carbon emissions check out the following link:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/road.html

Mussel Mania Part 2

Western Pearlshell mussel releasing conglutinates.

OK, in February I wrote a bit about the reproductive cycle of freshwater mussels. Well, last week I witnessed part of the cycle. It was very exciting. Apparently Western pearlshell mussels release conglutinates, a mucousy white mass filled with glochidia (mussel larvae). The conglutinates break up in the water current and settle to the bottom of the stream, where they resemble little white worms. That's the easy part of the life cycle. Soon after being released, a suitable host fish needs to eat 'the worm'. After being ingested, the glochidia attach to the gills of the fish and begin their transformation into free living mussels. That is, if all goes well!

Wormlike mass of glochidia.

Student Environmental Leadership Forum

Last month, the 3rd annual Student Environmental Leadership Forum (SELF) was held at Clark College. SELF is a conference for students in the Clark county area who wish to make positive change. The conference provides environmental education as well as leadership tools so that students may become active, aware, and effective community members. This year, over 150 students, representing fifteen schools attended the event. Environmental topics included climate change, waste reduction, clean water, and local food systems. Topics for the leadership sessions included volunteerism, building a clean energy future, a student-run campaign to stop people from idling car engines outside of schools, and turning great environmental ideas into great businesses. After the conference, student attendees were able to apply for a small grant from Clark County to implement their own ‘action project’. Past action projects have included construction of a compost system, creating a model hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, planting a native garden, and manufacturing of biodiesel.
















Heritage High School Biodiesel Club

Connecting Children with Nature

Connecting kids with nature is getting a lot of hype these days. But it is not really a new idea at all. I have been part of a great program since its beginning, nearly 15 years ago. It's called Cascade Stream Watch and it's run by a non-profit called Wolftree. They get kids from urban schools and bring them out to wild places such as Wildwood, a BLM recreational area near Welches. The kids get to explore life in the creeks and wetlands, learn about the forest plants and trees, and navigate using a compass among other things. Rain or shine, it doesn't matter to these kids. At the end of the day, the kids all share what they learned or found or thought was amazing. And there is usually alot to share. For more about this program visit www.beoutside.org. They are always looking for mentors who are willing to help eager students explore the outdoors.

Working with Bull Trout

Having worked mainly with salmon the past 2 years I never really thought much about other fish species. Makes sense as salmon seem to be the primary focus on the west coast. But as of October of 2009 I became part of a new field crew called the Native Trout Crew. Within my first week with this new crew I found myself learning about a new fish species, the bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). What I have learned so far is that Bull Trout are currently listed under the Endangered Species Act and that they tend to be found in colder water at higher elevations. Lucky for me this means a lot of cold weather, with temperatures as low as -11 °F at times. I can also tell you that Bull Trout prefer habitats such as pools, reservoirs, and lakes.

My favorite adventure thus far working with bull trout has been to the Eagle Caps in Eastern Oregon. Winter time looking for bull trout has proven to be quite an adventure. I actually had no idea fish biologists worked in the snow, but they do. Thanks to our friend max, our amphibious ATV, we are able to reach our PIT tag antenna sites at elevations of 6000 feet. So every month the native trout crew adventures out to Eastern Oregon to download data from our PIT tag antenna sites and make sure everything is operating correctly.

Submitted by Shawna Castle.

Springtime at the CRFPO

Most folks who work in an industrial park such as ours, look out the window to see well manicured lawns and ornamental shrubs and trees.  And the constant sound of leaf blowers, lawn mowers, sprayers, and hedge trimmers can be heard all of the time.  ALL the time.  Not so much around our building.  We were lucky enough to have a clean slate when we moved in, meaning just dirt around our new building.  That was back in 2004.  We were fortunate enough to convince our landlord that we should plant a completely native garden around our office.  Lori with Bosky Dell Native Plant Nursery was gracious enough to help us with the planning and planting.  

That first year, a killdeer laid eggs in a patch of gravel right outside the door.  That was a sign of good things to come. Since then, I have found numerous nests in the trees and shrubs.  And I have witnessed mother birds taking care of their young as well.  Migratory birds are frequent visitors to our garden.  Hummingbirds can be spotted throughout the year.  A pair of short-tailed weasels were seen outside of my window one year.  I hope to see them again this year.  And talk about rabbits.  They are not an uncommon sight.  They have plenty to eat and nest under the shrubs.  Let's not forget about the bees.  They stay busy pollinating the flowers all spring and summer.

Springtime is a great time around here.  The Oregon grape and high bush cranberry are in full bloom, leaves are budding, and flowers are popping up.  It seems that you can leave for the weekend only to return to a garden in full bloom.  The garden may seem stark right now but you just wait.

A Small Fish with a Long History

I remember back when I was just starting out as a fish biologist, old timers, much like I am now, and even younger co-workers who grew up in the Northwest, would talk about the smelt season. Around this time of year they would talk about taking huge dipnets, standing alongside the banks of the Columbia, Cowlitz, Lewis, and Sandy rivers, and filling 5 gallon buckets with these small fish. It sounded fun and seemed really cool to imagine swarms of fish in such vast numbers, that you could scoop up a full net with one swipe. I also remember as time went by, a little talk about the disappointing smelt runs and pretty soon, hardly any talk about smelt at all.

The Pacific smelt, officially known as the eulachon, is a small anadromous fish, barely 9 inches, which historically ranged from northern California to the Bering Sea in Alaska. They return to the freshwater in masses to spawn, usually at night. Most adults die shortly after spawning. They are important to Native American tribes, the ocean and freshwater food chains, as well as both commercial and recreational fishers.

Sadly, the numbers are at a historical low right now and the National Oceanic and Atmopheric Administration (NOAA) says that the fish is at “moderate risk of extinction”. On Tuesday, NOAA listed the Pacific smelt as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. You can read more about that here.

“This evening we were visited by Comowool the Clatsop Chief and 12 men women and children of his nation . . . The Chief and his party had brought for sail a Sea Otter skin, some hats, stergeon and a species of small fish which now begin to run, and are taken in great quantities in the Columbia R. about 40 miles above us by means of skimming or scooping nets . . . I find them best when cooked in Indian stile, which is by roasting a number of them together on a wooden spit without any previous preparation whatever. They are so fat they require no additional sauce, and I think them superior to any fish I ever taste, even more delicate and luscious than the white fish of the lakes which hae heretofore formed my standaart of excellence among the fishes.”


From the Journals of Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (February 25, 1806)

Photo of drawing reproduced from the Journals of Lewis and Clark (Illustration by Meriwether Lewis from American Philosophical Society)