By The Washington Chronicle: For decades, Errol Anderson collected pea-sized pink coho salmon eggs from state hatcheries and put them in his remote site incubators near Adna, raising 3 million fish in an effort to help dwindling salmon populations. Errol died in May of this year after battling cancer, and now his family has taken it upon themselves to continue his efforts.
Two of Anderson’s great-grandchildren, Evie Anderson-Thomas and Lane Johnson, both 10 years old and fourth-graders at Adna, went with Errol’s son, Jim Anderson, and his long-time friend and salmon conservation assistant LeeRoy Wisner to pick up hatchery eggs Thursday.
While Evie and Lane were happy for a day off school, they plan on doing a class presentation on their work, and recognize the importance and uniqueness of their opportunity.
“We’re carrying the (project) on,” Evie said.
They arrived at the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s hatchery on the Skookumchuck River in South Thurston County at 9 a.m. Thursday.
“I loved working with your (great) grandpa,” Jim Dills, hatchery manager, told the kids when they got to the hatchery.
Jim Anderson said while the family has helped out with the conservation project in varying degrees, it was his first time to the hatchery.
“This is new territory for me,” he said.
Dills explained that the eggs have to have a fish eye, a dark speck in the pink sphere, before they can be transported. If they’re handled before that, they won’t survive. Photo by Kaylee Osowski. Continue reading – http://www.chronline.com/news/a-legacy-of-conservation-grandchildren-carry-on-adna-man-s/article_796a0074-a8d6-11e5-a0db-bfea60fbae3c.html