Fieldtrip to Hagg Lake and Scoggins Dam

Today Michael's class and the other 5th grade class took a field trip to Hagg Lake and Scoggins Dam. They went to release the trout that they had been "growing" for a number of weeks now. They released the fry into the river/creek that feeds into the lake. They estimated about 400 fry were released today. Following the release of the fry, the kids boarded the bus and went to listen to one of the employees of the Dam talk about how and why the Dam was built there. Michael should now be able to tell you five reasons the dam was built and where the water from the dam goes/is used. I'm sure it will be on his test this week. Then the employee - Mr. Otto - opened the spillways and showed the kids how they control the water leaving the lake. Following that, it was back on the bus for a tour of the office area and the lower spillway. The day ended with lunch at the boat launch that was opened just for us. The Lake does not officially open until this Saturday. Michael had a good time today.

At the lake, the kids got to choose a partner. Then they got a bag with the fry in it to look at. They counted the alive and dead trout. Some kids names their fish, but Michael and Mo did not.

Michael and Mo hold the bag of fish in the river/creek to acclimate the fish to the cold water temperature. After about 5 minutes, they release the fish.

Here is the release of the fish. It was more gentle then the picture shows. They guided the fish out into the river and then held up the bag to be sure it was empty.

Friends - Michael E., Mo, Michael K., Zach, and Trevor.

A picture of Hagg Lake that I took from the top of the Dam.

The kids are at the top of the dam in the restricted area. They are looking over into the spillway to watch as Mr. Otto opens the doors to release some water into the river system.

Mr. Otto explains how unsafe riding down the spillway would be for a person. He said once a year in all of the dams across the U.S. someone tries this and they have one death per year.

Michael looks at the 7000+ gallons of water that comes out of the pipe per minute. Wow - that' s a lot of water!

Michael with his 5th grade teacher.

After lunch, the kids got to walk out on the boat dock at Hagg Lake. Their science teacher was explaining how the pier raises and sinks with the water level.