SEATTLE – Join Corps Natural Resource Management staff for a Fisheries Day 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. June 17 at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks. Twenty federal, tribal, state and local governments, and other organizations and groups are scheduled to offer information and activities about salmon and other environmental aspects.
Salmon have always been vital to the Pacific Northwest’s ecosystem. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District Engineer Maj. Hiram M. Chittenden understood this and planned on incorporating a fish ladder into lock designs in his early 1900s proposals. Corps scientists and other organizations continue to research this vital Lake Washington watershed resource.
All fish moving between Lake Washington and Puget Sound, including endangered salmon, must pass through the 100-year-old locks, spillway or the fish ladder. For many years the Locks has been the focus of studies detailing migrating juvenile and adult salmon behavior.
To help learn about salmon and their surroundings, Fisheries Day will offer children’s activities, including a passport, available for the first 2,000 at the Corps’ booth right outside the Administration Building. Children can visit each Fisheries Day booth and get their passport stamped. Booths will be on the circle drive which surrounds the Cavanaugh House, one of the oldest buildings at the Locks.
While visiting the Corps booth or the visitor center, you can try the souvenir penny machines, which elongate and emboss a new design, one of four Centennial graphics, on the penny. Typically these machines cost more, but as a special Centennial souvenir the cost is only a penny for one of the designs.
Other weekend events include two concerts and a dance performance. June 17, Cascadia Big Band will perform 2-4 p.m., playing post-swing big band music. For the Dads, on Father’s Day, June 18, a Classic Car Show will begin 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sound & Fury Morris and Sword will perform traditional Morris dancing, a centuries-old English folk dance with bells strapped to their legs and hankies, or sticks carried in their hands. Then, beginning at 2 p.m., the Elliott Bay Pipe Band will perform traditional pipe and drum music.
All events are open to the public. Limited concert seating is available on a first-come basis, but blankets or lawn chairs are welcome with plenty of space on the grounds. All concerts and events are subject to change. For up-to-date information or weather cancellations call (206) 783-7059 or follow us on Facebook and Twitter at www.facebook.com/chittendenlocks and www.twitter.com/chittendenlocks. For a list of more Centennial events visit www.nws.usace.army.mil/locks100.