When you think of school, you never think that the campus would have it’s very own wetlands included with a lake, creek, and a salmon spawning site. Nevertheless, fall quarter is the perfect time to witness nature’s most legendary phenomena: Spawning Salmon.

If you ask any biology or environmental professor here, they can tell you all about how we (the school) kept their population here alive and what we are still doing to keep them coming back. And the best part? We have a very rare species of salmon called Kokanee!

UW Bothell professor Dr. Jeffery Jensen is currently leading research on the life history and conservation of the local fish that are present in our waters. I am also currently taking his course that is specifically on salmon called Salmon and Society. My class and I get to learn how to help these fish and get to go on field trips to other salmon used rivers in Washington state. The class is very fun and engaging and has been my most awesome college class ever. I highly recommend taking the class!

But what are these so called Kokanee?

Well, Kokanee are just a small species of Sockeye Salmon. Like Sockeye (scientifically named as Oncorhynchus nerka), they are a beautiful bright red color! They are a bit smaller than the average day Sockeye and they have small black spots on their back. Here’s a picture of one down below:

You also don’t have to venture far into the wetlands to see them, if you just follow the public trail that is next to the soccer field and pass under the 522 bridge, you might find some spawning salmon like Sockeye or Kokanee, swimming around. Sockeye and Kokanee that come here in particular spawn around the first half of fall quarter, by late November the chance of spotting a Sockeye in the waters greatly decreases. Keep in mind that different species of salmon have different spawning times and there is variation even among the same species. Additionally, there are a couple other species of salmon that use this river as well as other fish.

I greatly admire salmon for their tenacity and ability to swim up such long tiresome rivers, they’re such champs! Salmon are a big part of the Pacific Northwest culture, I’m sure we have all seen pictures of them jumping up waterfalls and accompanied with a picture of a grizzly bear. Salmon are a big part of the Washington identity and a major food source for humans, animals, bugs, and even plants! Salmon sustainability and awareness is important in order to keep them coming back. The salmon population in general is in grave danger and conservation is extremely necessary for their future. I recommend everyone to learn about the major adversities that salmon have to go through.

I have enjoyed Dr. Jensen’s class on salmon and his field trips, I got to see things that I would have never been able to see on my own. For example, I was able to hear talks from very influential people in the salmon world, and I got to see private waterfalls like Sunset Falls. I also got to personally see a couple hatcheries in different parts of Washington. One of our field trips was also to see the aftermath of the biggest dam removal on the Elwha River, which was an amazing sight to see. I learned a lot on what it means to be a salmon in the world and would highly recommend this class to anyone who has the time for it. And if you want to see salmon on your own, just drop by the little spawning area below the 522 bridge and you might be lucky enough to spot a Kokanee.

– Lana S.