DWR Press Release
Sept. 16 is Kokanee Salmon Viewing Day
Heber City – You can see hundreds of bright red salmon—and possibly other wildlife, too—at the annual Kokanee Salmon Viewing Day.
The event will be held Sept. 16 at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) visitor center at Strawberry Reservoir. The visitor center is along U.S. Highway 40, about 20 miles southeast of Heber City.
The event is free. It runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Division of Wildlife Resources, the USFS and Friends of Strawberry Valley host the viewing event every September amid the valley’s beauty and its changing fall colors.
Seeing the salmon
When you attend the event on Sept. 16, you’ll see some salmon in the Strawberry River next to the visitor center. But, if you walk to the fish trap and egg-taking facility behind the visitor center, you’ll see hundreds of the bright red fish.
DWR biologists will be available at the facility to show you the salmon and talk with you about the peculiar life cycle of the fish.
“Kokanee are easily visible in the river at the visitor center,” says Scott Root, regional conservation outreach manager for the DWR. “Once you arrive at the fish trap, you can ask questions about the salmon. If you want, you can even touch one.”
Root says the fall colors should make your drive to the reservoir really enjoyable. “In addition to the salmon,” he says, “there’s a good chance you’ll see other wildlife too. Kokanee Salmon Viewing Day is a great family event.”
If you can’t attend the Sept. 16 event, Root says salmon should be visible in the Strawberry River, and other tributaries to Strawberry, from now until the first part of October.
For more information about the event, call the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest at 435-654-0470 or Root at 801-491-5656.