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53 °F 5 Day Forecast Saturday, November 29, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 16, 2003 Jerry Vogt, a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, searches a pool in Larson Creek for adventurous salmon. A recent surge of water swelled the Medford creek, encouraging a few salmon to move up the Bear Creek tributary. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Big fish in a little stream A couple of spawning salmon make their way up Medford’s tiny Larson Creek By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Two dark creatures milling Wednesday in a murky Larson Creek pool proved to John Kosmatka that there’s a little wild Oregon even in the most urban corners of Medford. Two wild fall chinook salmon flopped and splashed in the creek behind the Black Oak Shopping Center to the amazement of residents who took time off their walks along the creek’s bike path to witness nature at work. "When we walk, my wife and I always look for fish and we see little ones every once in a while," says Kosmatka, 76, armed with a camera to chronicle the event. "But I’ve never seen anything like this." In a rare feat of nature and buoyed a bit by man, the Northwest phenomenon of the return of the salmon is being played out along a small slice of a creek more known for housing feral cats than salmon. Advertisement Fall chinook salmon are in the midst of their peak spawning in the upper Rogue River basin, home to part of an estimated return of a near-record run of about 200,000 fish this year. These salmon spawn in the main-stem Rogue and its larger tributaries like Bear Creek and the Applegate River, with their offspring heading to sea the following summer. They return as adults three, four or five years later to spawn and die in the same general areas where they were born. The salmon are spread throughout most of Bear Creek but they rarely venture into the smaller tributaries. That’s true for Larson Creek, which flows from highlands of northeast Phoenix through east Medford before reaching Bear Creek near Interstate 5’s south interchange. Bear Creek is loaded now with fall chinook, and some of them are looking for new spaces to spawn. "When we have a lot of fall chinook coming up Bear Creek, we’ll see them shooting up these smaller tributaries," says Jerry Vogt, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist. "We’ve seen them already in Jackson Creek and now Larson Creek. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in Lone Pine creek as well." Usually, it takes a fall rain to swell the small creeks enough for the large salmon to try entering streams like Larson Creek. This time, however, it appears man had a hand in the migration. The Medford Irrigation District on Monday pulled stop-logs used to raise Larson Creek to funnel water to irrigators, the district said. Their removal created a short surge of water that likely drew chinook in from Bear Creek. The salmon finned past Quail Point Golf Course, through several culverts, past St. Mary’s School, under Black Oak Drive and east toward Rogue Valley Medical Center. The extra flows subsided Wednesday, exposing some of the spawning fish to gawkers and shutterbugs. "I’ll be damned," said Ralph Green, a retired Oregon State Police officer. "I’ve lived right on it for 28 years and never seen one." Though just marginal salmon habitat, Larson Creek has enough gravel and flows that it’s best to let the salmon follow their spawn-’til-you-die attitude instead of fishing them out and returning them to Bear Creek, Vogt says. To Vogt’s amazement, at least one female had dug an egg nest, called a redd, behind Shoji’s restaurant along a stretch where area residents feed feral cats. "That’s neat seeing big, ol’ fish in a little creek like this — right in the middle of Medford," Vogt says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times