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By Allie Hostler, HPN Staff Reporter
Spring
Chinook have begun their migration up the rivers and streams,
searching for their birthplace in order to complete their
lifecycles by spawning “until they die.” The Klamath-Trinity
spring salmon are different than most, however, because they have
escorts. For the past five years, people have symbolically
accompanied the fish from the ocean to two popular spawning
tributaries, the
Salmon River
and the South Fork of the
Trinity River
.
The Great
Salmon Relay Run was established in 2002 by high school students
in response to the 2002 fish kill that annihilated 40-72,000
Chinook and Coho salmon (estimates vary). The relay was designed
to mimic the migration of the Salmon, near the time they would be
‘running’ in order to symbolically help them up the river
while raising political awareness about water allocation and how
it affects salmon and the people whose lives depend on them. Since
then, all of the original organizers have graduated from high
school and gone on to pursue their college educations. Last
year’s run was three days long and ended at Iron Gate Dam with a
rally, but this year’s relay coordinator, Melodie George, said
the organizational flow was not as smooth without those original
students at the lead.
“I
really miss those students,” she said. “They really organized
this thing. They took it on and made it happen.”
Yet,
even in their absence, the relay went on. It began at the mouth of
the Klamath. A live fish was caught at daylight, then two carved
wooden salmon resembling the size and weight of a running baton
were carried by foot to the Klamath Glen. There, they were taken
by boat to Wau-tek village, also known as Johnson’s, at the
north end of state highway 169. From Wau-tek, runners went as far
as Weitchpec. At Highway 96, runners split to head up the Klamath
or
Trinity
Rivers
. When they reached highway 96, runners split. Some went up the Klamath
and others went up the Trinity.
“They
have to make a choice,” George said, referring to the runners.
“That’s what the fish do.”
Runners
headed for the South Fork of the Trinity about five miles east of
Willow Creek at the
Humboldt-Trinity
County
line, while
Klamath River
runners, organized by the
Mid-Klamath Watershed Council, set out for the
Salmon River
at the
Humboldt-Siskiyou
County
line.
Each
annual relay is unique. This year more than 140 people volunteered
to run sections of the relay. George said the outpouring of
diverse participation is evidence that the river doesn’t know
any political, racial or social boundaries.
Pointing
to the long list of sponsors printed on the back of the official
relay T-shirts, George said, “This is proof of how people can
come together despite political differences; despite cultural
differences; and despite racial differences.”
“All of
us together have a stronger voice than any one of us alone,” she
added. “That’s what the lesson of this run is, for me
anyway.”
Fish Kill Aftermath
In
2006, George said, four years after the devastation of 2002, the
significance of the fish kill became truly apparent. The salmon
population was notably reduced. So much so that that some of the
best fishermen on the river, had problems catching even one. The
one fish that was finally caught for the Salmon Run had to be
shared amongst nearly 50 people at the end of the 2006 relay.
“The
idea was to show people that we are no longer fish ‘fat,’”
she said. “We have to be very conservative now because of the
fish kill.” She added that the decline of the fish was not a
sudden change. Elders recall times when salmon choked the river.
“It
used to be you could mention that you needed fish and the next day
there would be 20 at your doorstep,” she said. “Those times
are over.”
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