Advocacy Project: The Salmon Challenge

Title
The Salmon Challenge

Purpose
Salmon Challenge is a game to help you see how your decisions help or harm our environment and our salmon. The environmental lessons learned from this game can also be applied to other wildlife and humans that use estuaries, rivers, lakes, and ponds for a variety of purposes.

Background/Reasoning/Evidence
Polluted runoff that enters rivers, lakes, and estuaries has a major impact on the environment and endangers the health of wildlife and humans. Polluted runoff comes from a variety of sources that are hard to regulate. However, there are several things you can do around your home to improve the water quality of rivers, lakes, and estuaries.

Instructions
1. You will be given ten questions, just choose the best answer by clicking on it with your mouse. Good choices will help your salmon grow big and strong and migrate to Puget Sound, bad choices will harm or kill your salmon.
2. You may get a Water Quality Alert with no good solution.
3. Click on CHECKUP to see your salmon's current size, health and location.
4. Click on TRY to give your salmon a jumpstart if you discover it is sick.
5. Clicking on the arrow will take you to the next question
6. When you are finished with the game, post a comment about what you learned from it!
*NOTE: Salmon Challenge requires Shockwave Player plug-in (external link) to view the animations.

CLICK on the Salmon below to play!

Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14

WOW...I feel like I am all out of ideas to reflect on without being repetitive, so I decided to keep this reflection short & sweet! The course is definitely winding down. I have to say, these past two weeks were probably my favorite ones of the entire semester! I LOVED "The Story of Stuff" video, the navigation activity at Bagley, and the repurpose activity! Can't wait to see what the last two weeks of the course brings!!!

Advocacy Project: Letter to Public Official

Lauren W.
123 Rainbow Road
LaLa Land, MN 54321

April 28, 2009

Representative Tim Walz
227 E Main St #220
Mankato, MN 56001

RE: Support for Bill H.R.585.

Dear Congressman Walz,

I urge you to support Bill H.R. 585, which directs the President to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate certain Federal rules and regulations for potentially harmful impacts on public health, air quality, water quality, plant and animal wildlife, global climate, or the environment; and to direct Federal departments and agencies to create plans to reverse those impacts that are determined to be harmful by the National Academy of Sciences. In relation to this bill, I am asking you to focus your support on the Minnesota River Basin in particular.

The 1st district of Minnesota has long been affected by problems with the water quality of the Minnesota River. Degradation in water quality has occurred in the Minnesota River over the last 150 years due to significant changes in land use. The water quality of the river is severely impacted by pathogens, sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen. These pollutants come from a variety of sources including runoff and erosion from agricultural fields, stream banks and stream channel scouring, city streets, construction sites, feedlots, and the effluent from wastewater treatment plants and septic systems. All of these pollutants cause health hazards for wildlife and humans, reduced fish populations, and impaired recreational opportunities. Concerted efforts are needed by town dwellers, farmers, municipalities, and industries to reduce pollution of the river and its tributaries.

Support of Bill H.R. 585 will help to develop local water quality goals to improve the quality of life in and around the Minnesota River. The creation of water quality goals would help to ensure that the fish are safe to eat, opportunities for fishing and boating are not limited by pollution, and it is safe to swim in the river. There is less concern about the water quality standards and more concern about the quality of life. People want to use and enjoy the Minnesota River without being concerned about potential health hazards. I appreciate your support of the environment and your past service as co-chair of the Upper Mississippi River Basin taskforce and efforts in Congress to secure funding for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program.

To assure our community’s health and safety and to make progress in the cleanup of the Minnesota River Basin, please support Bill H.R. 585 by voting “yes” when it is proposed in the House of Representatives.

Should you need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 888-999-1010. I look forward to your response.


Sincerely,

Lauren W.