Lafarge Quarry, Local Students Release Salmon Into River

NOTD LAFARGE

Lafarge North America’s Presque Isle Quarry (a member of LafargeHolcim), in partnership with Rogers City Middle School in Rogers City, Mich., recently released nearly 200 juvenile salmon, known as salmon fry, into the Trout River in Presque Isle County. This project was part of the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Salmon in the Classroom Program.

“This is our ninth consecutive year participating in this program, over which time we’ve worked with students to release more than 1,600 salmon fry into the river,” said quarry plant manager Allan Idalski. “We’re excited to continue this relationship in the years to come to help kids in the community better understand the importance of environmental conservation.”
This year’s project began in October when students received the salmon eggs from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ fish hatchery. The students then monitored and maintained the salmon and their environment in the classroom over the next six months, helping the fish to grow while also learning about the lifecycle stages of developing salmon.

During this time, employees from Presque Isle Quarry visited the classroom to discuss the development of salmon and the students visited the quarry for a tour. During the tour, students performed water quality testing and viewed spawning salmon on site. Once the fish reached the point where they were capable of feeding themselves (known as the fry stage), the students, along with Presque Isle Quarry employees, released the salmon into the Trout River.

As part of the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Corporate Lands for Learning, the Salmon in the Classroom program educates students on the environment while helping them to develop skills in observation, problem solving, water quality testing and macroinvertebrate identification.

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