Jack Cooley needs more eyes.
With 35 streams to monitor, the co-chair of the 撸奶社区Streamkeepers Society is on the hunt for people to help count fish.
"I haven't got enough counters yet," he told The Chief.
Like other volunteers in the environmental organization, once a week Cooley pulls on his boots and checks the neighbourhood's streams. He's been doing it for the past six years, since Cooley became a member of the Streamkeepers. What Cooley's looking for are a tally of the streams' scaled residents and visitors, in particular salmon.
At the end of the year the information is compiled and the data kept to monitor the health and progress of local waterways. The non-profit society, which helps create local fish habitat, oversees the streams to ensure salmon are able to travel up them and spawn.
Right now, chum can be found swimming against the rivers' flow.
"I saw 10 chum in Judd Slough," Cooley said.
Volunteer counters are expected to visit their designated stream once a week. Sometimes it helps to have a clicker to count the fish, Cooley said. He also has Polaroid glasses that aid one in seeing fish in the water on a sunny day, Cooley said, adding that in Squamish, the glasses aren't that important.
A good way to find fish is to check the places where they spawn, he said. Gravel plains, where the river levels out, are usually a good bet, Cooley said, adding the gravel stones should be no larger than one's thumb tip.
Having monitored local streams for numerous years, Cooley said finding the fish has become instinctive for him.
"I find that I used to fish a little bit here and there," he said. "Now instead of going out with my fishing rod, I go out and look for the salmon."
To volunteer with the 撸奶社区Streamkeepers or for more information email [email protected].
