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Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group
P.O. Box 2497
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
EIN: 94-3165939
By Intern Sage Mailhiot
The morning was decidedly autumnal. It was cold and damp–one of the first days of September on which you can see your breath as you exhale. Buses full of students emerge from the fog, and their voices fill the parking lot at Howard Miller Steelhead Park. We met each other in a nervous and excited combination of “Buenos días”s and “Hello!”s and the doling out of raincoats. Not 10 minutes earlier, we were shivering and stiff, but once the day had been set in motion, it was impossible to not feel warm.
We gathered in this riverside park up Highway 20 for the inaugural excursion of a new NOAA-funded salmon education program–Recorrido por el Río, or River Journey. In partnership with Vamos Outdoors, North Cascades Institute, and The Salish Sea School, the program aims to enhance understanding of the watershed that students live in, and as a result, foster a sense of belonging and stewardship with regards to their environment.
This excursion to the Skagit River is just the beginning of an exciting next few months. Students, for most of whom English is their second or third language, will journey up and down the Skagit River Watershed, learning about the salmon life cycle, and what salmon stewardship looks like. Trips to come will span all the way from Ross Lake to the Salish Sea.
We boarded three bright red rafts and set out onto the turquoise Skagit River. The humps of pink salmon crested the surface of the water–“¡como la ala de los tiburones!”–sometimes jumping in a dramatic splash. We arrived at the convergence zone of the Sauk and the Skagit Rivers, where the silty glacial water of the Sauk is diluted, where we pondered why the two rivers were such differ
ent colors. Some rafts were quieter, pensive. Others were raucous, splashing each other and laughing. Two kids at the bow of the raft were taking turns dunking their head in the water while the other secured his friend. “¿Está bien beberlo?” they asked, and we laughed and shook our heads as a seagull dropped a very timely turd into the water. We passed a bald eagle perched in a yellowing maple tree. I learned the word for eagle in Spanish – “águila”.
By the time that we got off the water, the fog of the morning was long forgotten and the future was bright.
“Life changing” does not truly begin to describe my intern experience with Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group thus far. For several months, I have had the amazing opportunity to take my knowledge of the Pacific Northwest wildlife to the next level. Never in my life did I think I would be involved with salmon the way that I am now.
I have studied the region’s marine mammals and have always thought I had a rather profound understanding of their connection to the environment in which they live. I walked into Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group and discovered I really did not know as much as I thought I did about salmon or how they tied into nature. In the short time I have been an intern, I have learned more than I could have ever hoped to gain!
To understand the marine mammals that inhabit the Salish Sea, you really have to understand the salmonid species that are native to the Pacific Northwest. Without salmon, the lives of these marine mammals I regularly teach people about would cease to exist!
My career has always focused on education and outreach. I used to work on boats where I would lead tours about marine mammals. I learned how to interact with the public and provide unique views on the Salish Sea’s wildlife. I have also spent a great deal of time using my art business as a platform to reach people around the world. When I became an intern, I was thrown for a wild curveball when I went from regularly educating adults about animals I could speak volumes on to educating young children about animals I knew very little about! I learned to readjust my ways of teaching. It surprisingly never crossed my mind, as a naturalist, that the people I make the biggest impact on are children! Teaching kids used to be one of the most daunting parts of my internship. However, over time, I have discovered that presenting in the classrooms is one of my favorite things to do. The kids look to you for guidance and knowledge. What you give to them can make a lasting impact.
Every aspect of this work has tied back into my day to day life. From educating the public, to deepening my understanding of the world around me. I have gained so much knowledge on things I initially never gave second thoughts to. I always say that the universe has strange ways of giving you the things that you need. This work was not something that ever crossed my mind. I had actually stumbled upon this internship by mistake. This experience, so far, has been absolutely magical and eye-opening for me. I gained a sense of purpose and community. I discovered how much of a difference I actually make. It changed my life. I look forward to what more comes my way and how I can use it to become a better steward in education and conservation.
-Kat Martin, Education Intern 2024-2025
Kat teaching kids about qualities of healthy riparian habitat.