<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Etna High students track Scott River Chinook<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>By David Smith<br><a href="mailto:dsmith@siskiyoudaily.com"><span style='color:blue'>dsmith@siskiyoudaily.com</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>November 01. 2013 10:03AM<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><img border=0 width=225 height=150 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CED716.856C6950" alt="Scottie Towne measures a Chinook carcass with the assistance of Peter Thamer of the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District."></span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>PHOTO/ David Smith<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Scottie Towne measures a Chinook carcass with the assistance of Peter Thamer of the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>A slow, steady walk through cold water in frigid weather might not be an ideal activity for some, but some Etna High School students braved the elements to get a hands-on experience tracking salmon numbers in the Scott Valley.<br> Part-time EHS teacher Jim Morris led the students on their trek through the cool waters of the Scott River, where they formed a moving line that provided a wide field of vision to detect Chinook salmon that have returned from the ocean to spawn.<br> The students were on the lookout for live salmon, carcasses and spawning areas known as “redds,” building a catalog of the annual salmon run to augment visual counts from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife weir located at river mile 18.<br> In addition to proof that a salmon has made it to a section of the river, carcasses provide a wealth of data and practice for students, giving insight into sample collecting and proper chain of evidence.<br> “We want to take high school students out so they can see what’s going on,” Morris said Thursday during an expedition. He explained that some students live near the river without realizing that salmon live and spawn within their reach.<br> “I’ve lived here since I was three and didn’t know what was going on,” Peter Thamer said, laughing. He now works for the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District, assisting with biological sampling and flow data collection.<br> Morris said the various samples the students collect by hand provide information on which age cohorts are still maturing in the ocean, as well as information on where the salmon have traveled. Collected scales are used to determine age, and flesh samples can provide chemical profiles that are then matched to specific ocean regions.<br> The students work their way through one or two miles of river, collecting samples and recording data before returning to class.<br>Morris said the experience not only opens students’ eyes but also opens opportunities after they graduate in the fields of biology and river management. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>