American River Wildlife News
The founder of the American River Salmon Festival has spawned a decade of educational fun
The annual American River Salmon Festival is just over a week away, and Bruce Forman isn't wasting any time. He kicks up dust as he hikes down the levee trail next to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, making notes of areas that need weeding and signs that need to be spruced up.
On the weekend of Oct. 14-15, about 25,000 visitors will attend the festival to welcome the arrival of king salmon to the hatchery.
There are banners to hang, fish statues to polish, croquet hoops to post and puzzles to assemble. Never mind the hundreds of volunteers from more than 30 sponsoring organizations already in motion -- Forman is in overdrive. With one eye on the river, watching for signs of salmon, he makes an unsuccessful attempt to power down while he talks about the festival.
"The boat rides will launch from here," he says, charging down a rocky slope toward the river. "Of course, we'll clean up this trail. And over here we'll set up the giant aquarium, and across the trail will be the croquet area."
He heads off down the levee, pausing just long enough to check on a trail sign. "Look," he says, pointing across the river, "there's a heron. He's probably waiting for a salmon, too."
Forman, a supervisor of interpretive services for the state Department of Fish and Game, is the man who dreamed up the festival and has nurtured it for 10 years, turning it into one of the area's most successful events.
Read the story in the Sacramento Bee.