Youth Education with Salmon Watch
The Rogue Basin Salmon Watch program is one of our most successful programs. In the 2023-2024 season we reached almost 2,000 students and hosted 34 field days — bringing students to the field at local creeks where native Chinook are instream each fall. Lead by local experts and educators, the program teaches students about watershed health and the importance of riparian areas, water quality conditions, macroinvertebrate populations, and other factors important to allow our native salmon and other aquatic species to thrive. Truly a collaborative effort, programs are provided at no cost to schools thanks to many funders, partners, and volunteers. Program coordination is provided by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments (RVCOG) Natural Resources Department and Rogue Valley Sewer Services (RVSS).
“The staff were knowledgeable, great at redirecting and holding attention of the students and they obviously are all passionate about this important topic. What a gift to the community to educate children in this way and what a gift to our local ecosystem. All of the children in the group I was with left the field trip with the sentiment that they would do everything they could to help the salmon and the salmon habitat through both their actions and sharing the information with others.”
“The kids who I chaperoned were absolutely inspired by the experience. It was so well organized, hands on and just perfect for making the information really mean something to the students, all of it very accessible for each student to integrate into their own personal knowledge bank.”
~ Teacher Testimonials
Major funding for the program comes from local communities (Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, Central Point, Jacksonville, Grants Pass) and counties (Jackson and Josephine) as part of their Clean Water Act Programs. Other partners that provide in-kind support, funding, or other assistance include watershed councils, non-governmental organizations, land conservancies, council of governments, local utilities (Medford Water Commission and Rogue Valley Sewer Services), educational organizations, and local, state, and federal agencies.
Additional funding provided through the Stream Smart program helps provide supplies, additional field days, transportation, and follow up sessions with schools to implement service learning projects and other activities.
Creative Collaboration: Adopt-A-Greenway Implementation Plan
In 2020 during the COVID pandemic, Stream Smart adopted a section of the Bear Creek Greenway and Riparian Corridor from Pine Street to Upton Road to help with providing educational and volunteer programs under social distancing restrictions. Activities as part of the “Adopt” program began with establishing the Bear Creek Clean-Up station and restoration activities following the 2018 Peninger fire.
Stream Smart has worked with partners including Crater Renaissance Academy, the City of Central Point, the Rogue Drinking Water Partnership and others on this section to install educational signs, host educational events, plant native species for restoring the riparian corridor, re-establish pollinator species and pollinator gardens, and pick up trash.
In early 2023, Stream Smart partnered with Crater Renaissance Academy to provide an internship for a student to help create a formal Implementation Plan for Stream Smart’s adopted section of Bear Creek Greenway. The goal of the plan was to identify and schedule various activities that could benefit the greenway utilizing community volunteerism and Stream Smart partners. Activities were identified by month, season, or as-needed, formalizing the Adopt-A-Greenway agreement between Jackson County and Stream Smart. The plan also included maps, Bear Creek Greenway history, and potential funding opportunities.
Regional Water Quality Monitoring with RVCOG
In 1992, local communities in Bear Creek began a comprehensive monitoring program as part of their implementation actions under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The long term goal of the CWA is to make all waters fishable and swimmable. The monitoring program is conducted by Rogue Valley Council of Governments (RVCOG), and conducts testing at both streams and storm drains throughout the watershed. The data collected is used to evaluate stream health, long term trends, any impacts of improvement efforts, and for education and outreach. The program is a unique collaborative effort and provides a robust set of data documenting changes over time in the Bear Creek Watershed.
Creek Safety Watch Advisories
During the summer months and as part of the Regional Monitoring Program, Stream Smart partners publish information regarding the health of streams based on monthly sampling results. While only advisory in nature, the notices provide information to the public regarding where streams are monitored and when sampling results exceed water quality standards. The Stream Smart program is also working to increase awareness of where monitoring is being conducted, what the data is showing, and where to get more information.
↘️ For more information on the program or to view current and past water quality data, visit our Stream and River Health page.
Jones Creek Planting
Partnership is a key component for implementing successful projects and we are lucky to be in an area that has a long history of collaboration and trust. A recent example is in the successful completion of a project along West Fork Jones Creek, a tributary to the Rogue River in Josephine County.
A small area along the creek was recently cleared of Himalayan blackberries and needed to be replanted. All local resources were exhausted when the project was presented to the Stream Smart team. Through various partners, we were able to piece together the project to get coordination time, materials, and labor donated to complete the project.
- Project Coordination — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Rogue Valley Council of Governments
- Materials — Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council, The Freshwater Trust, and the Rogue River Watershed Council
- Labor — Middle Rogue Steelheaders
- Technical Assistance — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife