One January 12, 71 people attended the Atlantic Salmon egg rearing program orientation, including 17 classroom liaison volunteers and 38 teachers from 32 schools in western Massachusetts.  The training was hosted by Trout Unlimited, The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, Mass.  The training was coordinated by the Connecticut River Coordinator’s Office.  Presenters from the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Massachusetts and private business addressed threats and solutions to salmon sustainability in the Connecticut River basin.

Parallel programs are underway elsewhere in the basin.  A record 62 schools will participate in the Connecticut River Salmon Association’s school program this year including six new schools.  The schools will rear eggs in 85 tanks in Connecticut.  Training for the 19 new teachers was provided, in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection on November 14, 2005, at the Northeast Utilities Headquarters in Berlin, Conn. 

Another 20 schools in Vermont and seven schools in New Hampshire have received training from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in cooperation with the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum, Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Forest Service and several other partners.  Other schools in Vermont and New Hampshire are now using a similar program to rear and stock trout.