Hello!
I know I am behind about a week, but there has been so much going on! Finding the time,energy, and service to blog has been very difficult:(
I will catch you up on the rest of my adventure like I have promised but since last night is fresh in my mind I wanted to write about the best day/ night so far.
Well after a long 5 hour trip from Umatilla( yes we were in Umatilla which I need to fill you in on later) to the Spokane Resevation. We arrived around 8:45 and our hosts were generous enough to give us free Arbys! We set up camp and had a chill night! We just ate and went to sleep. At this point you can tell everyone was ready for bed. In the morning we had an early wake uo call , but whats new? We wake up early every day! We got up ate breakfast and headed to the little building on the fair grounds where we were formally introduced to our gracious hosts and other people that work for natural resources : Billy Joe Kieffer (Director for Spokane Tribe Department of Natural Resources), Warren Seyler (BPA Coordinator), John Matt (Heritage Coordinator), Bill Matt (Environmental Officer), Brian Crossley (DNR for Spokane Tribe Program Manager), Casey Flannigan (DNR for Spokane Tribes Project Manager), and Brent Nichols (Program Manager for Lake Roosevelt Fisheries)after they filled us in on who they are and what they do and then we finally headed out to the field.
This is when the day gets good!
We took a small hike up Shimikin creek where we learned about carbon copy foot prints. This tracks what kind of animals have been in the area. We learned how to set up the thing that attracts the animals into the footprint area.(picture 2) You use very nasty smelling meat inside of a camouflaged metal container that will lure the animal in . After getting that set up, we got to head to a BBQ that was prepared our host. We also got soda to accompany our meal . A nice ice cold Pepsi was amazing to us!! After lunch we got to do the best activity so far, Shock Fishing. I was a little bit hesitant to go in the water but Jessica volunteered Heritage students to go first. I got my waiters on and I was the bucket person.The two who had the back packs on shocking the fish looked like ghost busters "Who ya gonna call?" I was running back and forth between the two people shocking the fish trying to keep up. Our group caught about 7 fish I believe. It was amazing!! It even made me think about changing my major at one point. After that we headed back to camp to get ready for swimming and our dinner. We went to Lake Roosevelt and had an amazing day on the water followed by a salmon dinner which was delicious.Besides some drama and safety issues , everyone had a great day. We had stories told to us at sundown by the Spokane Tribal members and by a few of the Heritage clan. I of course shed some tears, I was finally to that point where I realized this trip is so worth it. I have not only learned information about wildlife/fisheries/ restoration ( the scientific aspect of the trip) but I have gained more than any text book or any length of a semester could have taught me. I have learned perseverance, respect, trust, and the ability to adjust to any environment/ situation that is thrown my way which will actually help me in the real world when I am on my own. Over all today, like I said was the best day so far. The Spokane tribe really knows how to take care and welcome us as if we are family. A big thank you to them!
I know I am behind about a week, but there has been so much going on! Finding the time,energy, and service to blog has been very difficult:(
I will catch you up on the rest of my adventure like I have promised but since last night is fresh in my mind I wanted to write about the best day/ night so far.
Well after a long 5 hour trip from Umatilla( yes we were in Umatilla which I need to fill you in on later) to the Spokane Resevation. We arrived around 8:45 and our hosts were generous enough to give us free Arbys! We set up camp and had a chill night! We just ate and went to sleep. At this point you can tell everyone was ready for bed. In the morning we had an early wake uo call , but whats new? We wake up early every day! We got up ate breakfast and headed to the little building on the fair grounds where we were formally introduced to our gracious hosts and other people that work for natural resources : Billy Joe Kieffer (Director for Spokane Tribe Department of Natural Resources), Warren Seyler (BPA Coordinator), John Matt (Heritage Coordinator), Bill Matt (Environmental Officer), Brian Crossley (DNR for Spokane Tribe Program Manager), Casey Flannigan (DNR for Spokane Tribes Project Manager), and Brent Nichols (Program Manager for Lake Roosevelt Fisheries)after they filled us in on who they are and what they do and then we finally headed out to the field.
This is when the day gets good!
We took a small hike up Shimikin creek where we learned about carbon copy foot prints. This tracks what kind of animals have been in the area. We learned how to set up the thing that attracts the animals into the footprint area.(picture 2) You use very nasty smelling meat inside of a camouflaged metal container that will lure the animal in . After getting that set up, we got to head to a BBQ that was prepared our host. We also got soda to accompany our meal . A nice ice cold Pepsi was amazing to us!! After lunch we got to do the best activity so far, Shock Fishing. I was a little bit hesitant to go in the water but Jessica volunteered Heritage students to go first. I got my waiters on and I was the bucket person.The two who had the back packs on shocking the fish looked like ghost busters "Who ya gonna call?" I was running back and forth between the two people shocking the fish trying to keep up. Our group caught about 7 fish I believe. It was amazing!! It even made me think about changing my major at one point. After that we headed back to camp to get ready for swimming and our dinner. We went to Lake Roosevelt and had an amazing day on the water followed by a salmon dinner which was delicious.Besides some drama and safety issues , everyone had a great day. We had stories told to us at sundown by the Spokane Tribal members and by a few of the Heritage clan. I of course shed some tears, I was finally to that point where I realized this trip is so worth it. I have not only learned information about wildlife/fisheries/ restoration ( the scientific aspect of the trip) but I have gained more than any text book or any length of a semester could have taught me. I have learned perseverance, respect, trust, and the ability to adjust to any environment/ situation that is thrown my way which will actually help me in the real world when I am on my own. Over all today, like I said was the best day so far. The Spokane tribe really knows how to take care and welcome us as if we are family. A big thank you to them!
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