Releasing the Salmon

Ammon's first grade class has been raising some salmon eggs this year, and today we went to Taku Lake in Anchorage to release them. First we met at the school to scoop them out of the tank, and then we followed his teacher, Mr. Uson, to the lake. Ammon was a little cranky at the school, and didn't want to participate, but then, once we arrived at the lake, he enjoyed himself. I am glad for that. He loves the outdoors. All of the kids loved seeing the seagulls and ducks around the lake. We even saw an eagle swoop down and snatch a fish out of the lake! I wasn't fast enough to get a clear picture, but I at least got a fuzzy one! His teacher joked and said he would be charging the kids fifty bucks, and that he had planned the whole thing... He's got a great teacher! So, after we released the fish (I think the count was 276), we followed the small stream to a bigger stream, where Mr. Uson told the kids some more about where the salmon would end up. He told us that only about 1% would come back to spawn. We had a great time! Living here in Alaska really does give you an appreciation for the springtime! The temperature was around mid-60's, and Ammon was complaining of being hot in his fleece...ha ha!