I have always had a passion for animals, nature, and particularly the ocean, which led to attending college and earning my degree in Marine Biology. During undergrad, I got the opportunity to work as an intern helping to monitor Coho salmon and Steelhead trout in a nearby creek. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but I became enamored with fisheries-related work. Out of college, I worked as a naturalist for a couple of years, which was fulfilling in its own way, but I was itching to get back to the science and research that I got a taste of during my time in school. I came across this opportunity with SPAWN while seeking out more fieldwork and wildlife monitoring experience.
My first week consisted of erosion fabric installation at one of SPAWN’s restoration sites, along with lots of weeding of invasive plants and planting native plants. I hadn’t done much habitat restoration work prior to this internship, but it’s a crucial part in supporting native Coho populations and I am happy to be part of it. About two weeks after I started, we were able to install our fyke-net trap into the creek to start monitoring Coho smolts. As a salmonid monitoring intern, I have spent a lot of my time thus far helping at the trap, which includes tasks such as recording data, collecting measurements and weights of fish, and scanning Coho smolts for PIT tags. Though the Coho salmon are what we focus on in our data collection due to their endangered status, there are other fish species that end up in the trap, such as Steelhead trout and Chinook salmon. It has been interesting to see all of these species together and it’s been helpful to see their unique traits to hone my salmonid identification skills.
I have also recently gotten the opportunity to assist in the rescue effort by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to catch and relocate stranded Coho juveniles. With rising temperatures, seasonally, parts of the watershed dry up, leaving separated pools rather than flowing creeks. With no way for fish to travel up or downstream, and with these pools shrinking each day, these fish wouldn’t stand a chance at survival without any intervention. I was able to catch hundreds of Coho from these pools that we then moved downstream to more stable habitat. It was amazing and rewarding to see just how many fish we were able to help.
SPAWN is largely community and volunteer oriented, which has allowed me to meet and work with many amazing, like-minded people. Something I deeply admire is that everyone involved with Turtle Island Restoration Network is working hard to make change and to stand up for what is right. I have learned so much already in my short time with SPAWN, and I am optimistic that the work I am doing along with the hard work of the SPAWN staff and community will make for positive outcomes in the future for Coho salmon and the environment as a whole.
