The Courier
NEWS
GCHS Receives Idaho Heritage Trust Grant
In November 2020, the Idaho Heritage Trust (IHT) Board of Trustees awarded the Gooding County Historical Society up to $5,370 to replace asphalt shingles and repair and paint wood siding on the Thorn Creek Schoolhouse. More than half of IHT’s annual grants are awarded to rural communities with populations of 5,000 or fewer. The one-room school, built in 1912 at Thorn Creek 11 miles northeast of Gooding, was donated to the historical society and rehabilitated at the museum site. The society members raised $13,000 in donations to partially restore the building. The school operated at Thorn Creek, a community of ranch families, until it merged with the Gooding School District in 1947. Seventeen students attended the school in 1941. Two families competed for the school in 1912. Then the “losing” family moved the finished building more than a mile in the dead of night, on skids over snow and frozen ground, to its longtime site. By 1920, the eight-grade school had outhouses, a windmill and a teacherage. Norma Moody Burnum, the only student in her class, was the last student to graduate from the school. In 1991, the schoolhouse was donated to the Gooding County Fairgrounds by Frank and Alma Varin. The building was moved for the final time to the Gooding County Historical Society Museum in 2010. The Gooding County Historical Society can be reached at 208-934-5318. Learn more about IHT at idahoheritage.org Over 60 vendors ranging from Arts and Crafts, festival food and community organizations, will be in Shoshone this weekend for the annual Shoshone Arts in the Park. Held on the Lincoln County Courthouse Lawn in Shoshone, activities over the weekend will include the Lincoln County Historical Museum opening, a petting farm, and the Idaho Operation Lifesaver Trolley will be giving rides as well as horse drawn wagon rides (weather pending). A Sidewalk Chalk Art contest will be held from 10 to 12 on Saturday around the courthouse as well a Kiss a Pig Contest. Musicians from all over the Magic Valley will perform bluegrass & folk music, Rock/Root/ Americana with a hint of gypsy & jazz, along with country & western. While you enjoy the music, check out the great food vendors from Gyros, Philly Cheese steak sandwiches, Indian fry bread, Mini Doh! Nuts, Burritos and Tacos, Cotton Candy, Snow Cones and cold drinks. Come out to the 33rd annual Shoshone Arts in the Park on July 10th see & 11th in 5..... Shoshone, page Idaho. For more information visit www.shsohonearts.com, find us on Facebook or call the Shoshone Chamber of Commerce at (208) 886-9811.
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
July 7, 2021
Vol 45 Num 27
Baby Sturgeon Bound for the Snake River
by Martin Koenig, Natural Resource Program Coordinator
It's okay to admit it, these tadpole-size fish are pretty darn cute, and kind of like tadpoles that turn into frogs, these babies will turn into Idaho's own Snake River monster: sturgeon. Obviously, they're already sturgeon, but they will hopefully grow into a fish that's taller than the average Idahoan. These 1-inch fish could be 6 to 8-foot monsters 30 years from now. Sturgeon live incredibly long lives, and they may take 15 to 25 years to grow to 6 feet. They're special fish in Idaho, and while anglers can fish for sturgeon, it's strictly catch-and-release fishing only. The photo shows white sturgeon from the Niagara Springs Hatchery that were 34 days old when the photo was taken. The hatchery is owned by Idaho Power and operated by Idaho Fish and Game. These sturgeon are part of an ongoing conservation aquaculture program that's trying to boost sturgeon populations in the Snake River using eggs collected from wild-spawning fish in the river. The project is a collaborative partnership that includes Fish and Game, Idaho Power, Niagara Springs Hatchery and the College of Southern Idaho hatchery in Twin Falls. Idaho Power has spent a huge amount of time and effort learning how to collect drifting eggs and larvae from the Snake River to make this program a success. These fish were collected in the Snake River near Bliss using specialized nets that capture eggs and larvae drifting downstream from natural spawning areas, but are unlikely to survive if left in the river. Collecting eggs directly from fish naturally spawning in the Snake River preserves all the genetic diversity of wild populations and eliminates the need to collect adults from the wild and spawn them in captivity. Once collected, the tiny eggs are taken to College of Southern Idaho and Niagara Springs hatcheries, where the eggs are carefully incubated and raised. After about a year in the hatchery, the juvenile sturgeon reach about 12 inches before being returned to the river. Biologists from Idaho Power and Fish and Game stock them back into the Snake River at many locations between Twin Falls and Brownlee Reservoir in Hells Canyon. Man-made changes to the Snake River mean most sections of the river no longer have the habitat to support successful sturgeon spawning, so fish raised by this program help support sturgeon sport fishing.