(Fort Washakie, WY) – Students from Wyoming Indian and Fort Washakie schools gathered the morning of the 21st at Ray Lake, south of Fort Washakie, to release trout fingerlings they had grown in their classrooms. They’d done so as part of an annual tradition organized by the Shoshone and Arapaho Fish and Game department to help students on the reservation feel more connected to the land.
Boys walk around with trash bags to collect trash around the lake before the release. h/t Carl Cote Students set up fishing rigs in the parking lot at Ray Lake. h/t Carl Cote Girls find old trash on the edge of the lake’s dried up bed. h/t Carl Cote Boys cast lines as far as they can out into Ray Lake. h/t Carl Cote Trout fingerlings grown inside of science classrooms on the resrvation sit in buckets ready to be released.h/t Carl Cote
The event was originally planned for Washakie Reservoir, but rain and snow moving into the area that morning pushed organizers to relocate to Ray Lake. Before the release, students walked the shoreline to pick up trash. The lake is sitting noticeably below typical spring levels, leaving more of the bank exposed and uncovering debris that would ordinarily remain underwater.
After the cleanup, students gathered in a circle to hear from two speakers. Jason Baldes attended on behalf of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative, and Art Lawson represented Fish and Game. Both men addressed the group before the release got underway.
Beofre the release, Art Lawson talks about the importance of maintaining the natural environment by respecting all things living to the students gathered for the trout release. h/t Carl Cote Students dip cups into the coollers full of trout to catch a few to release. h/t Carl Cote Students discuss how to setup their lures on their fishing poles before the release. h/t Carl Cote Fort Washakie Science teacher, John Gookin, helps student fish trout out of the coolers in which they were transported from the classrooms. h/t Carl Cote Elisah Duran released a few trout from his cup into Ray Lake. Students from Fort Washakie and Wyoming Indian released hundreds of fingerlings as part of the annual tradition of the student trout release on the Wind River Reservation. h/t Carl Cote
Students then scooped trout fingerlings into cups and carried them to the water’s edge, transferring the fish they had raised in their science classrooms into the lake. The storm that had been looming all morning made its presence known at that moment, with rain beginning to fall just as the first fingerlings entered the water.
Wind and rain intensified as the release continued, but that didn’t stop a handful of students from grabbing fishing poles and casting lines into the lake, as they held out hope for a bite from some of the bigger fish living in the lake.