The Columbia River ecosystem and its primitive inhabitant, the sturgeon, will be honored here Saturday, Sept. 20, at the 18th Annual Sturgeon Festival. The free, one-day festival runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Water Resources Education Center, 4600 S.E. Columbia Way in Vancouver. The festival is hosted by the City of Vancouver, with support from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.The popular event includes entertaining and educational activities for all ages. Special events include the Birds of Prey Show, fish dissection and Eartha the Ecological Clown.
Kids who download and print the sturgeon image from the City of Vancouver’s website ( http://www.cityofvancouver.us/publicworks/page/sturgeon-festival ), color it, and bring it to the festival, will receive a surprise. The sturgeon image is also available at the WDFW Region 5 Office in Vancouver.
The sturgeon, prevalent in the Columbia River, is a primitive fish that has not changed substantially since it emerged in the Jurassic period. Sturgeon are a long-lived species, reaching 5 to 6 feet in length by the age of maturity. A few sturgeon in the Columbia River have been verified to be over 80 years old.