I had the great pleasure of having very dear, old friends visiting this week. After almost two years of isolating, time together felt especially wonderful. It also gave me the opportunity to take them on a deep dive into island life. Hiking Moran and Turtleback, beverages at the Rosario Mansion, and clams and oysters from Buck Bay were among the highlights.
We were fortunate to swing by the Glenwood Springs Hatchery on the morning they were harvesting the last of the kings for this year. The hatchery was started by Jim Youngren in the 1980’s. Alarmed by the decline of salmon runs, Jim founded Long Live the Kings to supplement the species. There is now a healthy annual run of fish in Eastsound. We watched as volunteers rounded up the last of this year’s run yesterday morning. They milked the males and gathered the eggs of the females. These will be incubated and the resulting fry will be reared in the hatchery until they are ready for release. To learn more, go here. Thank you to Jim and Kathy Youngren for their stewardship. What a lovely legacy.
We kick off the Holiday Grant Cycle today with an informational meeting at 3 pm. If you or your organization would like to learn more about this process, please join us via this zoom link. If you have any questions, email Megan Neal, OICF’s Grants Manager.
Hope you have a cozy weekend.
Hilary