Spokane Tribal Hatchery, Wildlife, Canoe journey Day 10

Day~10 July 18, 2017

It seemed like we don't have enough time in the morning to get everything done we need to, even when we have extra time. Before we knew it we were off on another adventure. First stop was to see their fish hatchery efforts, where they produce rainbow trout and Kokanee Salmon.  Tim Peone was very knowledgeable and passionate about his efforts to bring back the salmon and provide fish for his people.

Our next stop was to the Anderson Farm. The tribe purchased this property in efforts to restore water to the McCoy Lake by returning a creek to it's nature path into the lake. They also use the property for the Wildlife program. The Wildlife program manager is  Eddy Matherly an enrolled member. He talked about how his program is part of the mitigation funding provided by the BPA.

In 1992 the population of the people was growing and White Tail deer populations were declining. Since the Salmon can not swim back up the rivers, they needed another source of protein. The Spokane Tribe introduced Elk onto the reservation. Since then they have a herd of 500. They have seasons to hunt their game, from deer, elk, moose, bear, and wolves.

Wolves are here on the reservation and are monitored. They haven't been a problem here and they are learning a lot from the pack that is here known as the Huckleberry pack.

We did get to stop by McCoy Lake and see lots of wildlife around. Turtles, frogs, dragonflies, and we learned their was Stergon I'm the lake. It was interesting that they working on filling cracks at the bottom of the lake with clay. When we see practical applications to what we learn in books is very rewarding.

Warren came by and ensured that we were able to canoe. I was excited. It was a lot of fun. We played on the water. We found a floating dock and jumped off and swam around. The water was nice. I notice it was a lot cleaner than the lower Columbia. But it was also warm. I talked to the river and prayed. It left good to be in the river. It left good to visit this place. Thankful for an educational heart warming day.

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