... White Sand Satellite.

Last year they pretty much met their goal of 840 Chinook Salmon returning to their "home" at Walton Creek just below the confluence of Colt Killed Creek and Crooked Fork Creek, the origin of the Lochsa River.




Some pix from last year's spawning procedures ...

... four females ...



... one in delivery mode ...



... a "willing" male ...



... the redd, aka a white bucket, with a healthy mix of chinooks to be ...



This year's goal is about the same, but they are getting a much higher return of "jack" salmon than last year. "Some chinooks return to the fresh water one or two years earlier than their counterparts, and are referred to as "jack" salmon. "Jack" salmon can be half the size of an adult chinook salmon, and are usually released by sportsmen, but kept by commercial fishermen. ( from Wikipedia )"

When I first heard about this unusual mix several weeks ago, Idaho F&G was not sure what they were going to do with the jacks, which can not much contribute to the spawn and hatchery operation and are not favored for that purpose. A week or so ago, it occurred to me that perhaps I could coordinate an arrangement whereby the jacks were donated to the Missoula Food Bank.

Today I stopped by the White Sand Satellite facility to talk to the fellow who manages it. Lo and behold, IDF&G recently made arrangements to transport the jacks live to one of the food banks down in the Kooskia / Kamiah area. The jacks will be processed locally and put into the food chain at the local food banks.

So kudos to Steve and the rest of the gang at White Sand and the area managers who approved this project.

John