The Klamath River has become the focus of a budding educational program for public schools. The Klamath River Educational Program (K.R.E.P.) is funded through the Klamath River Basin Fisheries Restoration Program, which will provide federal and state money over the next twenty years to restore salmon and steelhead runs in the river system.

Education is an important component of restoration and fundamental to change. Awareness, knowledge and understanding will bring about long term changes in attitudes and actions that will benefit the resource. Conversely, the study of fish, streams and watersheds can add appeal and substance to school curriculums. Getting out of the humdrum classroom routine can be very motivating, and the learning opportunities are many.

K.R.E.P. is helping to bring topics of fish life histories, stream ecology and habitat restoration into schools in Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity and Siskiyou Counties. Over a five year period, he program will produce curriculum materials, train teachers and provide support to adopt-a-stream projects. The focus will be on different grade levels each year. The first step is to educate and encourage the teachers. This school year, ten teachers of grades 4-6 have been writing and fieldtesting lessons that will be part of the curriculum, and have been increasing their own knowledge about fisheries and restoration.

In July, these teachers, along with fifteen others, will attend a one week training institute. They'll tour a few of the river's tributaries, look at restoration projects, learn how to collect and identify aquatic insects, study geology and spy on the fish by diving or using stream scopes. The group will move downriver to the coast, where they'll learn some basics of harvest management and visit the river's mouth. Participants will get a chance to try out many of the lessons in the curriculum, and will get a broad overview of the complex issues that resource managers must face.

The ten teachers who are involved with program development will conduct inservice trainings for others in their own school districts next fall. This will facilitate the sharing of curriculum materials, ideas and experiences, and will strengthen the growing network of teachers interested in stream and watershed studies.

K.R.E.P. will evolve along with adopt-a-watershed programs that are taking root in Siskiyou and Trinity Counties. As these take in a broad variety of topics, the Klamath River educational materials will concentrate on the river. If you are a teacher who would like to find out more about this program, or a resource manager who wants to invest a little time and effort helping out in the field or classroom, you are invited to call Diane Higgins at 707-822-0744 .