Kokanee fundraiser nets almost $10,000 for preservation
April 3, 2012
Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon supporters raised almost $10,000 last month to protect the disappearing fish species.
Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery and Coho Café organized a March 16 fundraiser to net dollars for a kokanee restoration program.
The sold-out event raised funds from ticket sales for a reception at the Watershed Science Center on the hatchery grounds and a silent wine auction benefit.
Matt Baerwalde, a Snoqualmie Nation representative, presented a $5,000 check to FISH Executive Director Jane Kuechle for the kokanee spawning program.
Fundraiser to aid dwindling Lake Sammamish kokanee
March 13, 2012
The message from groups toiling to save a fish species from extinction is simple and stark: SOS, for Save Our Salmon.
Kokanee S.O.S. is a planned fundraiser organized by Coho Café and Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery to aid the diminishing Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon population. The restaurant and the nonprofit organization are planning a March 23 fundraiser to benefit kokanee restoration efforts.
“This possible extinction is literally happening right in our own backyard and if a community as educated and affluent as King County cannot turn this critical situation around, then I’m not sure there is hope for any people to protect a dwindling and important resource,” said Heather VanDorn, Coho Café Catering manager.
Salmon in the Classroom program spawns gift to Clark Elementary School
March 6, 2012
The long-running Salmon in the Classroom program at Clark Elementary School remained afloat due to a donation from a former student.
Issaquah native Jerry Pearson, a Snoqualmie attorney and former Clark Elementary student, said childhood memories of salmon in Lewis Creek and concerns about budget cuts to public schools inspired the donation.
“It’s important for kids to know that the salmon are an important part of the culture in the Northwest,” he said. “They need to know that salmon are so much more than just the logo on posters for Salmon Days.”
Pearson recalled fishing for trout and perch in Lewis Creek as a boy growing up near the south end of Lake Sammamish.
State predicts smaller chinook, coho salmon returns
March 6, 2012
State salmon fishery officials expect a smaller coho return to Puget Sound streams in the months ahead.
Overall, the forecast calls for 732,363 coho to return to local streams — or 249,000 fewer coho than the 2011 forecast.
Lend a fin to kokanee at local fundraiser
March 6, 2012
Coho Café Catering and Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery plan to help a salmon species in decline.
The organizations planned Kokanee S.O.S. — for “save our salmon” — a fundraiser at the Issaquah restaurant to raise dollars for Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon preservation. The species is dwindling, but the federal government declined last year to list the fish as endangered.
The fundraiser is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 23. Purchase tickets at Coho Café, 6130 E. Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E., Suite A, or by calling 391-4040.
Proceeds from the fundraiser benefit a long-term effort to restore the salmon species. The effort brings together U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and FISH to collect and spawn kokanee.
Mountains to Sound Greenway seeks federal recognition
February 21, 2012
The greenway, shown above, runs parallel to Interstate 90 from the Seattle waterfront, through Issaquah and across the Cascades. The greenbelt encompasses 1.5 million acres in conservation lands, recreation areas, farms, working forests and cities. By Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Greg Farrar
National Heritage Area is meant to highlight environment, history
The 100-mile-long Mountains to Sound Greenway — greenbelt stretched along Interstate 90 from the Seattle waterfront and across the Cascades — is often heralded as a national model for conservation and land use.
Join discussion on future of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery dam
February 7, 2012
The public is invited to attend a free presentation, “It’s Time to Replace the Issaquah Hatchery Dam,” by Cleve Steward, senior fisheries scientist with AMEC Earth & Environmental Inc., and Kerry Ritland, surface water manager with the city of Issaquah.
The Feb. 15 talk will focus on plans to replace the existing dam and fish ladder that lies across Issaquah Creek upstream of the hatchery. The slide presentation will show schematics and diagrams of the proposed replacement for the dam and provide information about the effects the dam has on salmon recovery.
Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery presents this talk as the second in its quarterly educational seminar series focused on the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, salmon culture and environmental stewardship. The talk is open to the public and will take place in the Watershed Science Center, on the south side of the hatchery grounds along Newport Way. It begins at 6:30 p.m.
First Friday Wine Walks offer a new taste of downtown
January 17, 2012
The artEAST Art Center and UP Front Gallery, which always participates in ArtWalk in the summer, will be one of six locations on Front Street to take part Feb. 3 in the inaugural First Friday Wine Walk. File
Adding to its list of events to draw more visitors to downtown, the DownTown Issaquah Association announces First Friday Wine Walk from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 3.
Wine Walk, following other popular events such as ArtWalk and a zombie invasion, will feature boutique wine tasting at six locations up and down Front Street.
“It should be fun,” said Karen Donovan, the association’s executive director. “I’m excited.”
Wineries will include Lodmell Winery in Walla Walla; Woodinville’s Smasne Cellars; and, Castillo de Feliciana. Several Wine Walk locations will feature live entertainment to include acoustic guitarist “Uncle Phil” Hansen; guitarist and composer Angelo Pizarro; vocal group Bodacious Ladyhood; and, pianist Meg Mann.
FISH elects officers for 2012
December 13, 2011
Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery again elected Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger to lead the organization.
FISH also elected Norman “Crash” Nash as vice president, Mark Allen as treasurer and Darrell Wells as secretary. Each officer serves a one-year term.
FISH is a volunteer based nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the historic Issaquah Salmon Hatchery. FISH volunteers educate the community and visitors about the salmon lifecycle and encourage stewardship of the Puget Sound watershed.
Issaquah Salmon Hatchery holds gift shop sale
December 1, 2011
NEW — 9:40 a.m. Dec. 1, 2011
The FISHop, the still new gift shop at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is holding an end-of-the-salmon season sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 3 at the shop in the hatchery, 125 W Sunset Way.
The hatchery is advertising 30 percent off all merchandise, such as official hatchery adult T-shirts for $9.45. Other items include limited edition art prints, children’s educational card games, hatchery 75th birthday magnets and more.
The FISHop sits in the hatchery next to the Steve Bell Theater near the hatchery bridge over Issaquah Creek. Learn more about the hatchery in general at www.issquahfish.org.
