2013 – A Super Salmon Season for Volunteers

In its nearly 20 year history, the fall of 2013 will bring the highest need ever for volunteers. Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery has always operated an active and engaging volunteer program. Each fall welcomes over 10,000 school children and untold thousands of visitors to the hatchery. FISH guides, or docents as they are called, become knowledgeable about the lifecycle of salmon, the characteristics of our watershed for ideal salmon habitat and the role of hatcheries in preserving our Pacific Northwest Salmon species.

Others participate in the spawning process and support the WDFW employees Darin, John and Mike, who manage the facility and the growing of salmon for release to the wild. This year there will be new challenges because of the project on Issaquah Creek to replace the old intake dam with a series of rock weirs in the stream. Many more volunteers will be needed over the course of the fall to work around the challenges of decreased water flow and timing of the project’s completion. Spawning days may be stepped up to twice a week and fish may need to be trucked around the creek construction project to spawn upstream from the hatchery.

Now is your chance to become involved. Whether you want to help with tours, help with fish culture, volunteer in our gift shop, or help with one of several educational programs, we hope you’ll come be one of us and join our group of dedicated FISH volunteers. Our annual training will be held August 24th. It is an all-day training specifically for individuals new to donating their time at the hatchery. To learn more visit our website (www.issaquahfish.org) and click on GET INVOLVED at the top of this page. Complete our volunteer interest form. You’ll be contacted by Beverly Lee, our Volunteer Coordinator.

Now is the perfect time to plan your fall adventures. You’ll not find a more fun or rewarding way to give back to you community than volunteering with FISH at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery.