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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 23, 2005 Jim Hutchins, a Jacksonville naturalist and volunteer, has counted salmon in Bear Creek every year since 1994. -- Photo by Mark Freeman Bear Creek spawning ritual carries hope Salmon’s return to much-maligned waters a sign that ecological success still possible By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune A pair of amorous fall chinook salmon are doing their spawning dance next to a drowned shopping cart, and Jim Hutchins voyeuristically sneaks toward them. "If you don’t splash, you can get right over the top of them and watch," Hutchins says. "Salmon can’t look behind themselves." After a moment, he steps to the side and in a watery explosion, the chinook bolt past Meier & Frank and toward JCPenney. Between Interstate 5 and the asphalt range of the Rogue Valley Mall parking lot, chinook have returned for their annual spawn-until-you-die ritual that shows how much-maligned Bear Creek still teems with life. The end of October marks the peak of spawning for the fall run of chinook, the largest of the six anadromous fish species that fin and spawn in the Rogue Valley’s urban shadows. Advertisement From Central Point through Medford and almost into Ashland, fall chinook are picking whatever useful gravel they can find to dig egg nests and lay tiny eggs that will create part of the Rogue River’s famed chinook runs of later this decade. "It’s one of those exciting feats of nature," says Dan Van Dyke, the Rogue Watershed fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "These fish are up to 40 pounds and swam 125 miles to get to Bear Creek," Van Dyke says. "I hope folks realize what they got in there. There are fish spawning literally right near their backyards." And these salmon spawn under the Polaroid gaze of Hutchins, a Jacksonville naturalist and volunteer who has counted Bear Creek salmon religiously since 1994. Once a week from October through November, Hutchins dons waders and walks three stretches of the stream — the reach adjacent to the mall, the downtown stretch and a portion of the creek between Ashland and Talent — and logs the fish he finds. He’s seen 74 so far this season, more than last year’s total tally of 59 adults but far below the 2003 record count of 283. The data is used by Van Dyke to track trends of where chinook spawn in the creek. Summer trapping of juvenile salmon shows that last year’s spawn produced an estimated 300,000 juvenile salmon, more than any other anadromous fish there. Hutchins believes it shows the possibilities for Bear Creek if it sported fewer shopping carts and better spawning habitat. "I’m always the optimist," says Hutchins, who teaches stewardship in several southwest Oregon high schools. "I see these fish and think we can clean Bear Creek up and make it a gem for Medford — not something you don’t even want to look at." Albert Garrison likes what he sees when he halts his daily dog walk at the Pine Street Bridge in Central Point to peer over the side. "It’s beautiful to watch them," says Garrison, 72, of Central Point. "People think the creek is so polluted that there’s no salmon in it." Van Dyke encourages people to peer into Bear Creek’s shallow and gravely stretches perhaps to see a dorsal fin of a male breaking the surface. "I have a real soft spot for urban watersheds," Van Dyke says. Friday’s wade through the mall stretch yields seven spawning salmon, one spawned-out dead one and four shopping carts. Hutchins shakes his head, talking up the salmon and downplaying the carts. "Nobody cares more about this creek or these salmon than me," Hutchins says. "But it takes all of us to make a difference. "I want every kid in this state to realize what a beautiful place we have, to see the salmon and appreciate them," Hutchins says. "That’s stewardship." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Bear Creek spawning ritual carries hope ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s