Salmon and Eagles and Tourists, Oh my!
By Maya Carlisle

During the winter months, visitors flock to Skagit Valley in hopes of seeing large numbers Bald Eagles feeding, roosting, and soaring along the Skagit River. This year was no exception; it brought over 4,000 Bald Eagles and thousands of visitors. The Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group (SFEG) has seen the eagle watching season as a wonderful opportunity to teach visitors why the eagles come to the Skagit: the Chum Salmon.

I spent several weekends volunteering at the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center (SRBEIC) as the official SFEG representative. This season, SRBEIC hosted a record number of 6,550 visitors who took advantage of the quality presentations, activities, and nature hikes that were offered. SRBEIC did an amazing job at getting a wide array of engaging speakers who were experts in their fields whether they were masters in geology or birding by ear. I had the pleasure of assisting with and leading several nature hikes that took visitors down to the Skagit River. It is incredible to witness Bald Eagles tearing into rotting chum carcasses on gravel bars up close and personal through a spotting scope; to share that experience with visitors is incredibly fulfilling. It gets visitors excited and interested in salmon and allowed me to share my enthusiasm about the relationship between salmon, eagles, and the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Nostalgia was high for many because this season marked the end of an era for it was the last season that SRBEIC was located in the Rockport Fire Hall. SRBEIC has officially moved to its new, temporary home in the interim Skagit River Interpretative Center, located in Howard Miller Steelhead Park. This was the third season SFEG has been involved with SRBEIC and we hope for many more to come as we further develop this excellent partnership.

Mareike Slovin, Maya Carlisle, and Christie Fairchild demonstrate their wingspan compared with the bald eagle mascot in front of the Rockport Fire hall BEIC.

In addition to working with SRBEIC, SFEG also worked in conjunction the US Forest Service and Marblemount Hatchery Staff to train and coordinate volunteer tour guides at the Marblemount Fish Hatchery. It is an important program we wish to continue because it helps visitors understand and make the connections between eagles, salmon, and healthy watersheds while giving them a richer appreciation for the complexity of our ecosystem. Tours of the Marblemount Fish Hatchery were used as a platform on which to teach people about the importance wild salmon and quality habitat, the relationship between hatchery and wild fish, and the role of hatchery fish in the ecosystem.

These coho alevin, or juvenile salmon, will be kept in the hatchery for up to 20 months and then released for their downstream migration to the ocean. They will return to the hatchery as mature adults. This is one of many hands-on demonstrations visitors can experience as part of a guided hatchery tour.

The tours also were an opportunity for visitors to view salmon and steelhead in a setting that was safe for both humans and fish. The hatchery tour season was extremely successful this year. We had well over 560 visitors who came from towns and cities as close as Concrete, Mount Vernon, and Seattle to states and countries as far away as Colorado, Ohio, Australia, and Japan. Some highlights of the season occurred during the volunteer tour guide training when volunteers were able to witness many chum and coho salmon spawning right below us in Clark Creek. Also, visitors on one of the tours witnessed a very exciting event: five bald eagles (two adults and three juveniles) feeding on chum carcasses about forty meters away from the mouth of Clark Creek where we were standing. The steelhead swimming up Clark Creek to the fish ladder in the hatchery amazed many visitors who were hoping to see some large spawners. One reason why this season was so successful was due to our dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. Without you, this season would not have been as smooth or as enjoyable. You were able to give many people a memorable experience and get them excited in wild fish and habitat restoration. A special thank you goes to all of our wonderful volunteers, partners, and visitors. We’ll see you next year!