Winter Blessings: River Bank Salmon

Fish out of water—salmon carcass in willow

The beginning of March and twenty mile per hour winds whip sheets of snow across the river, loose twigs and dried leaves stick to alders lining the beach and dead salmon are quickly buried in the blowing sand--except for the decomposing carcass caught in one short willow.

I have seen many ripe salmon, easily found by following my nose, entwined in limbs several feet above the ground, teeth exposed, half eaten. Totally unappetizing unless you are a bear or a black lab.

Nowadays, I can walk to the river without holding my breath. When I first arrived over 30 years ago, the river was packed bank to bank with salmon and steelhead and otters patrolled the waters. My first canine companions discovered the gourmet pickings early on and they couldn't be contained. They loved to drag parts out from under a leaf pile, roll in the mess, dive into the delectable meat still clinging to the body and gulp the deadly tiny flukes embedded in the fish head.


Ahhh, the next few days revealed their folly and my ignorance. Both dogs refused food, stopped drinking water and barely moved off their beds. Salmon poisoning. One of the old timers told me they would either get over it or die...I didn't like the odds so I got them to the vet in time to begin a 10 day course of tetracycline. When the next stash of remains decorated the beach the following year, they were immune.

The dogs searching for bits of salmon among the willow

The Illinois hasn't seen much in the way of salmon and steelhead--or for that matter--eel and crayfish for years. Except for an occasional carcass, the river bank in this area has been bare.  People who  know these things, tell me the Illinois has been devoid of life sustaining nutrient for --years.

But I have seen changes recently. The last four years an otter has been working the river. Last summer a family of otters took up residence around the corner and their shenanigans will be the subject of a later blog.   (No I'm not going to give specific locations!)

I've been advised that just as farmers planted fish carcasses to fertilize the garden, the river is healthier and more abundant when returning fish die and their decaying bodies nourish everything that lives in or depends on the water. That means plants, salmon, steelhead, crayfish, (I'll skip eels) water fowl, osprey, bear, deer and those of us who are 70% water.

So I ask you to pray for healthy rivers. I can hold my nose for a couple of months.