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Chinook count spawns new optimism Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Jim Hutchins counts fall chinook salmon as he makes his way down Bear Creek near Medford�s Main Street Bridge. He�s counted a couple dozen so far this season, compared to three total last year. He says it�s an indication the health of the stream is improving. Adult salmon make return in larger numbers to Bear Creek By Paul Fattig A spray of whitewater erupts as a chunky chinook salmon hits the shallows before veering off to leave a wake in the deeper water. Another adult chinook turns on its side, rapidly undulating its tail in a gravel redd. Never mind the traffic rumbling overhead on the Interstate 5 viaduct or the fact this is downtown Medford: The return of the fall chinook salmon in Bear Creek each year is a natural wonder to Jim Hutchins. Where to see Chinook The bike path on the southern edge of Hawthorne Park in Medford is an excellent area to view migrating fall Chinook salmon in Bear Creek. The Jackson Street and Main Street bridges spanning the stream also provide viewing opportunities. "They are gone for three or four years, locate the stream they were born in, then return to complete their life cycle," said the Medford naturalist. "It�s an amazing thing. "I was so excited seeing these fish back here after last year�s count," he added. "I only counted three total all season last year. This is phenomenal." He counted nine chinook salmon near Hawthorne Park and a couple near the Rogue Valley Mall on Saturday. And he saw a dozen in the stream during one half-hour late Tuesday afternoon. Hutchins, 64, has been counting the fall chinook salmon each year for the past six years under a contract with the federal Bureau of Reclamation through the Rogue Valley Council of Governments. Beginning Oct. 1 and continuing to the end of the year, he dons his neoprene chest waders once a week and walks three miles of the stream in search of salmon. The bulk of the fall chinook run occurs in mid-October, he said. Grabbing his trusty walking stick, Hutchins wades a mile stretch near the Rogue Valley Mall, another mile section beginning at Hawthorne Park and a mile of the stream near Ashland. "I try to stay in the deepest part," he said. "I can walk right up on them." If the water gets too high, he doesn�t venture out into it. He has taken three spills in the stream. But Hutchins, who is also director of the non-profit Oregon Stewardship program dedicated to educating young people how to become better stewards of the environment, figures the chance of getting a dunking is worth it. "I think there is hope for this creek," he said. "The water quality is still bad, but it�s improving." Hutchins recalls counting more than 100 fish in 1995 and 1996. Last year was bleak, but he believes the fish populations are cyclic. "I think food supply in the ocean has a lot to do with it," he said. Fish passage also has improved in recent years, observed Mike Evenson, district fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Removal of the Jackson Street dam two years ago improved the fall chinook passage by 300 fish, according to some estimates, he said. Fish ladders at other diversion dams in the stream also have been improved to ease the migration of salmon battling upstream, Evenson said. "We�ve seen old systems replaced with state-of-the-art designs," he said. "That is helping a lot. But it�ll probably be several years before you can make qualitative statements as to how it has affected the fish migration." Young fall chinook move downstream early in summer before low water and high water temperatures harm them, he said. The creek has a history of pollution problems, from serving as a garbage dump to being a dump for municipal sewage. The big chinooks can survive if they are given a chance, Evenson said. "There are still problems," he said. "But Bear Creek has had fall chinook salmon for a long, long time, probably from before the arrival of man." An avid fisherman, Hutchins intends to make sure the chinook survive. "I always ask my students if we can have a healthy environment and quality of life and still have business and recreation," he said of his Oregon Stewardship classes. "I tell them I believe we can, but that it takes a lot of work." Improving conditions for salmon People who live along Bear Creek can aid the migration of fall chinook salmon by not dumping material in the stream or in adjacent storm drains. "One of the key things is to remember that storm drains all dump directly into the creek," said Brad Prior, Rogue Basin specialist for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. "There is no treatment for material that goes into storm drains," he said. "We�re asking people to not put into storm drains anything they wouldn�t put into a hot tub or swimming pool." That includes materials such as oil and insecticides, he said. "They shouldn�t dump anything in the stream," he said. "We find all kinds of things in there. Even something like lawn clippings can decompose and use up the oxygen that fish need to survive. "People need to treat it as their stream � they need to take care of it," he added. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.