We're here at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, where thousands of salmon make their return every year, and the community comes together to learn, celebrate, and protect these wonderful fish.

Okay, Mark.

Can you tell me what makes.. Well, so we have three organizations here at the hatchery.

The first one is the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

They do all the internal fish production.

The second one is the organization that I work for: Friends of the Salmon Hatchery or FISH.

And we do all of the outreach.

All of the education.

And then the third organization is the Muckleshoot Tribe.

They're a co-manager of the creek.

And they come in and they help with, some of that production that the .. Nice.

So when did the salmon appear?

So the salmon start appearing in mid-August.

That's when we get our Chinook salmon, also known as king salmon.

And they'll appear all the way through September.

And then in early October our coho or silver salmon appear and they'll start their run and they'll continue all the way through November.

That's awesome.

Okay.

Now I know when is the best time to see .. Where's the best place?

Well, they're here in the creek right now, but let me take you over to the viewing bridge where we can really get up close with them.

Let's go.

Thank you.

So we’re feeding the fish.

And they’re big!

Yeah.

Hey, I came all the way from Kansas.

It's worth the visit.

So here's my favorite place.

You can see the, Chinook, as I said, the king salmon, there in the creek.. And they're making their way up.

They can sense the current, so they'll go over to those gates.

The gates, lead off to our fish ladder.

And, they'll make their way up to the fish ladder to our trapping ponds, where we trap them.

So as the fish make their way up the fish ladder, we have our viewing windows over here so you can get up close and personal.

And when I say, the hatchery is accessible to everyb.. So this might be the end of the road for these salmon here, but it's a whole new beginning for another generation.

Let me go show you.

Let's go.

So here we have our juvenile Chinook salmon.

And our juvenile coho salmon are on this side.

And, the aquarium is open all year round.

You can come and visit them and see their progress.

Nice.

Every fall, the salmon make their return.

And every season, this hatchery helps make sure their story continues.

I'm Angela.

Thank you for exploring.

I'll see you.