A small education worth getting.

Anyone who lives in Humboldt County is pretty well forced to know at least some small portion of two different subjects: the lumber industry and the effect it has on rivers and streams in this county. 

The Pacific Lumber Company (refered to as PalCo from here on out) used o be a multi-million dollar industry.  Between the various types of lumber that can be found in Humboldt, and red wood, PalCo was a giant, employing enough people to actually fill a town on its own. 

Eventually, this industry became more widely regulated by the government.  Wih regulation comes change, and eventually PalCo began to reforrest the land it was cutting.  There is a huge long story here, one that I don't care to get into. But it suffices me to say that one of the things the lumber industry had taken into consideration is the effect of lumber milling on local streams and rivers.  The direct effect on streams and rivers affected the fish in those rivers, mainly trout, steelhead and salmon.  So policies were put into place and action taken to make the industry more friendly to the environment and the various species in that environment.  to help people understand this more readily, PalCo built a Fishery Exhibit.  This exhibit is in the news now (which is the only reason I even learned about it) because Palco is in the middle of bankruptc hearings.  Now, this display, which cost nearly 5 million to make and is still kept up, has an uncertain future.  So Ben and I took an excursion to see this facility and learn what we could from it. 

What follows is a little of the photos I took while there.  The rest of the Photos from this exhibit can be found by clicking here.

If you ever have the oppotunity, I suggest you check this display out.  Its worth the drive to Scotia.