Student Contributor -L. Alexenko
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) commissions and manages hunting, fishing and other recreational activities throughout the state of Washington. They are tasked with setting seasons for wildlife management units as well as monitoring the number of game species within those units and to improve opportunities for residents of the state and surrounding states.
Although the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) primarily does work pertaining to things in the outdoors, they have expanded their presence to the classroom providing robust educational opportunities. An educational opportunity the WDFW provides is “Salmon in the Classroom.” The WDFW supplies salmon eggs to classroom teachers and educational curriculum about the life cycle of a salmon and lessons that can be taught through it. This organization provides a unique opportunity to pull science into the classroom and give their students a new and exciting learning experience. The WDFW also has regional officers and biologists who make appearances in the classroom from time to time to help facilitate fishery biology information.
At the current moment, the state of Washington’s Salmon and Steelhead populations and spawning runs are at some of the lowest points they’ve ever been. Impacts from dams, commercial and over fishing, gill netting, habitat destruction and many others have greatly decimated several once well-known fisheries. With the help of this organization, you can help engage your students in helping to restore the once great salmon and steelhead runs of the pacific northwest. At the end of the unit, students take their salmon fry and release them into the local watershed.
