Three down - one to go!

Dear Friends,

We had a blast on our third trip of the summer - to Spring Valley Reservoir, just outside of Troy, Idaho. Although the catching wasn't great for most of us, the fishing was awesome. Helpers from the Palouse District of the Clearwater National Forest, the Dworshak Fisheries Complex (USFWS), Palouse-Clearwater Enivronmental Institute, and Adventure Club taught about water safety, angling ethics, and fishing techniques. We had the chance to fish for most of the afternoon - a few hefty bluegill were landed by our skilled Adventure Club anglers.

We have one more trip scheduled for the summer - to Dworshak Dam and Hatchery, in Ashaka (just down the Clearwater from Orofino at the confluence with the North Fork). Students will have a chance to learn about anadramous fish like steelhead and Chinook salmon, which spend the first parts of their lives in the streams of Idaho, swim to the ocean, and return to spawn. Tuesday the 14th will be a special day because it is one of the spawning days for the hatchery salmon at Dworshak. Students will get to see the spawning process firsthand, and will have the chance to get up close and personal with Chinook salmon.

I'm sad to say that this will be my last trip with the Adventure Club - I am leaving my position at PCEI on the 15th of August to return to college, where I will be studying to become an elementary school teacher. You will be meeting my successor, Jenica Wood-Beauchamp, soon.

Stay in touch for pictures and more updates.

Thanks, and get out on those lakes and streams to do some fishing!
Jake
PCEI

Partridge Creek Trip

Good afternoon, folks!

We had another great trip to the Elk River area. 28 kids, Adventure Club staff, and myself met five wonderful folks from the Palouse Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest at Partridge Creek.

We hiked around the meadows at the "Rinky Dink" campground, and had lunch with a number of regional supervisors from the Forest Service. After lunch, we learned about how to use tools such as pruners and shovels, and once again embarked for the meadow where we spent about an hour clearing around some plants that are part of PCEI's ongoing restoration efforts .

As the temperatures soared into the mid-90s, we decided to spend the rest of our afternoon chillin' out in a beautiful grove of trees, enjoying the shade and each other's company.

We have two more trips coming up this summer:

Spring Valley Reservoir - July 31

Dworshak National Fish Hatchery - August 14

See you then!
Jake

What a wonderful day!

We are off the ground and running with our MY WOODS program! I had a wonderful time yesterday hanging out with all of the Adventure Club kids and our wonderful program staff. Staff from the Adventure Club, United States Forest Service, and Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute taught the kids about Leave No Trace ethics, water bugs, and native plants of the Clearwater Mountains. Staff from the Moscow-Pullman Daily News came to cover the event, and helped with the trail maintenance and hike. We went on a fantastic hike, and shared lots of laughs and smiles as we hiked to the Upper Falls and maintained the trail all along. The weather couldn't have possible been any better.

For pictures from the trip, please visit the Adventure Club website and select the Elk Creek Falls trip!

I can't wait to see everyone again - our next trip is set for July 10 at the beautiful Christiansen Meadows outside of Elk River. We will be helping to restore a stream that got messed up by years of abuse. I'm pleased that our young people will be able to help out.

To learn more about the USFS More Kids in the Woods program, which has provided generous funding for these trips, go to the USFS site.

To the parents and staff out there - a big push from this program came from Richard Louv's book, "Last Child in the Woods." It is a delightful book that talks about the need to get kids off of those Playstations and out from in front of the TV into the woods and fields where they can reconnect with the Earth! Talk to Bob down at BookPeople of Moscow to get a copy, or order it online here: www.amazon.com

Have a great week, and get those kids outdoors!

Jake

Elk Creek Falls hike tomorrow!

Dear MY WOODS family,

Our first trip, to Elk River Falls, is tomorrow! We will be exploring the life in the stream, hiking to the falls, and learning about the plants of the area. Additionally, we will have a chance to help maintain the trail to the falls and to learn about "Leave No Trace" ethics. I can't wait to see you all there!

Jake
Co-Founder, MY WOODS program

Introduction to MY WOODS

Hello, Friends of MY WOODS.

My name is Jake Smulkowski and I am one of the co-founders of the MY WOODS (Moscow Youth Working Outdoors Offering Direct Service) program. Thanks to the generous funding of the United States Forest Service, we will be leading Moscow School District Adventure Club students on four exciting field trips a year in each of the next two summers.

I work for the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute (PCEI), and will be working to coordinate the MY WOODS program. My outdoor interests include hiking, backpacking, swimming with my dog (Duff), and fly fishing. I hope you are as excited as I am to spend some time in the woods hiking, fishing, learning about our local environment, and completing some fun service projects.