05/22/2026
Salmon, plants, macroinvertebrates…oh my! Last month, students visiting from Westmoor High School in Daly City got their hands dirty and learned about the wonders of Olema Creek with members of Point Reyes’ fisheries and vegetation crews.
Students rotated between three stations:
🐟 Salmon Smolt Trap: Each spring, the Point Reyes fisheries crew operates a smolt trap in Olema Creek to monitor federally-listed coho salmon and steelhead trout populations. The trap also catches many other species including sculpin, roach, stickleback, and freshwater shrimp! Students observed how to measure and weigh individuals of each species, and even helped record data.
🌱 Vegetation: The group spent time identifying plants in a grassland near the creek, learning about the abundance of floral diversity which exists even within small patches of this ecosystem. Students also practiced creating dichotomous keys—a series of yes/no questions used to identify species—for grasses and forbs growing in the area.
🪱 Aquatic macroinvertebrates: Olema Creek is teeming with crayfish, mayflies, midge larvae, gilled snails, caddisflies, and many other amazing macroinvertebrates. Students swept riverbed sediment into nets, revealing the biodiversity hidden under the flowing stream.
This program was funded through a proposal written by NPS Fisheries Biologist Michael Reichmuth from the National Park Service Youth in the Parks Program to provide opportunities for Bay Area school groups to visit the Seashore. This funding enabled about 200 students (ranging from 5th through 12th graders) from multiple schools in the Bay Area to experience fisheries field work this year. Thanks for visiting us, Westmoor High School!
📸 PRNSA Staff
