Having Fun at the Coho carnival

Students from around the Mat-Su School District took over Matanuska Lake last week, studying about insects, the life cycles of fish and the importance of personal floatation devices.

The annual Coho Carnival, put on by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, also was the culmination of a year-long classroom project for many students.

Last fall, several classrooms participated in an egg-take, in which they went to a local creek with Fish and Game officials and harvested eggs. In an incubator, the eggs matured into salmon fry throughout the year.

Last week, students released their mature salmon into Matanuska Lake.

Other students released salmon and trout from the Fish and Game stocking program.

Booths were set up around the parking lot at Matanuska Lake where students could study insects and how they benefit fish, as well as other environmental issues and topics.

Fish and Game sponsors similar Coho Carnivals around the state, including in Anchorage, Kodiak and the Kenai areas.

The last two years, the Mat-Su event has been met with nice weather. Still, because of a late spring, ice still covered Matanuska Lake. Craig Baer of ADF&G said he had to chip a large hole in the lake so students could release fish.