At first I thought that maybe we here at Wend HQ were just a little obsessed with salmon; we have friends that dress up in salmon costumes, we blog about salmon stakeholder rallies and Stiv even wrote a piece about his salmon trek last weekend. But then I spent yesterday afternoon at Eagle Creek — an optimal place to watch the salmon run — and realized that there’s good reason to be salmon obsessed in the NW: the species is an integral part of our local ecosystem and economy.
That may sound like an idiotic realization, but it’s one thing to blog, tweet and talk about environmental issues, it’s another thing to go out and see them first hand. In our technological driven society, it’s easy to get caught up in news articles, press releases and blogs, but sometimes the best way to get revved up on an issue is to experience it in real time.
So back to the afternoon at Eagle Creek. It was just a causal photo outing; a chance to shoot some colorful leaves and hopefully see some salmon. The salmon were definitely out, many of them using their last efforts to swim the final lengths upstream. Others had already perished and dead salmon carcasses covered the bottom of the stream. Sitting on rocks down by the water, if we were patient enough, every now and again we would see one of the fish jump out of the water in an attempt to make its way up through the rapids. A jumping fish is a beautiful thing.
Salmon are beautiful and majestic creatures, and it’s awe-inspiring to see them up close, to get to take part in this final chapter of their lifespan. And it’s a perfect reminder of how important they are to the local ecosystem — just one of many species that we need to continue to protect and preserve. Which is why we all need to spend a little more time outside.
Here’s some visual inspiration to motivate you:
Related Posts
No related posts were found, but here is a random post you might find interesting: The Catalunya Experience.
