Salmon sculptures spawn conservation awareness

By Marcus Hathcock

The Sandy Post, Jun 27, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

marcus hathcock / sandy post

The first place these artfully decorated salmon sculptures were displayed was Champion Collision in Sandy, where they were given free clear-coat treatment.

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It wasn’t business as usual a few weeks ago at Sandy’s Champion Collision auto body shop.

The typical parade of cars, trucks and buses made way for ... salmon?

Thirteen artfully decorated, 2-foot-long fiberglass fish spent some time at the local business on June 6, getting a layer of protective clear-coat before touring the Portland area.

The baker’s dozen of fish – along with 18 larger, 5-foot-long fish – are part of a joint creative effort by the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council and Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) called “Salmon for the Sandy,” which seeks to use the colorful, artist-commissioned salmon effigies to educate locals about conserving and appreciating the Sandy River.

The timing of the project couldn’t be better, said Watershed Council Coordinator Russ Plaeger.

“We’re hoping to catalyze some of the public excitement and energy that’s come from the Marmot Dam removal,” Plaeger said. “There’s a lot of attention on the Sandy this year.”

“These sculptures are a fun, engaging way to highlight what fabulous things are happening (in the Sandy River watershed),” said project lead Sue Doroff of the WRC, referring to her organization’s progress in securing a 17-mile-long conservation area on the river. “This is a very exciting moment in our conservation efforts, and we’re using art to help engage the public in what’s going on.”

The idea for the decorative fish came from Watershed Council member (and Sandy-area resident) George Hoyt, who saw a similar project executed in Gig Harbor, Wash.

After he talked with the organizer of that town’s exhibit about a year and a half ago, Hoyt proposed that the council pursue a similar undertaking to raise money for its watershed stewardship programs. Plaeger quickly embraced the idea.

Originally, Hoyt envisioned that 15 sponsored, ornate fish sculptures would appear in outdoor public places around the city of Sandy. But because of the major urban renewal projects coming down the pipe this year, Hoyt said he didn’t want to compete with busted-up sidewalks.

The project was put on hold for several months until Plaeger enlisted the help of the WRC, which decided to run with it, expanding the number of fish and broadening the reach of the sculptures.

“We’re all about awareness and about generating support for the watershed council,” said Doroff, noting that although the two groups’ missions are different, supporting one invariably helps the other.

After a call for proposals from the art community and a careful evaluation process of more than 100 artists, the WRC commissioned locals to put their personal touches and concepts on the 33 total fish.

Each artist had just under two months to create his or her fish, but Doroff says they delivered the goods.

“It’s such a cool display,” she said. “Each fish has a story that goes with it; it helps tell about the past, present and future of the Sandy River.”

The fish don’t look like your average Coho. Designs include a rooster-like salmon, a salmon with tiles that illustrate spawning on the river, a fish with a painted Mount Hood/Sandy River landscape, a salmon made of sticks and a fish whose body is composed of human faces.

In addition to the visually stimulating designs, Doroff says each fish will have an audio complement.

The salmon sculptures will be unveiled at a concert celebration at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 5, at Jamison Square Park in the Pearl District.

From there, the smaller salmon will become part of a traveling “school of salmon” display that will make its way around Portland, to Sandy, to Timberline Lodge and to Salem over the next several months. The larger salmon will be placed in public buildings around downtown Portland, such as Columbia Sportswear, the Oregon Zoo, REI and major office buildings.

After spending time in the community, locals will get the chance to purchase the sculptures at an auction Oct. 24 at the Portland Art Museum. The small sculptures will be sold via silent auction, and the larger ones will be part of a live auction. All proceeds will benefit the Watershed Council’s outreach and stewardship programs that help landowners along the Sandy best manage their land.

“This is going to benefit the Watershed Council with some needed cash to continue the programs we have under way,” Hoyt said.

Plaeger estimates that the small fish could sell for around $2,000 apiece, and that the larger fish could bank more than $5,000.

Although most of the auction will benefit the Watershed Council – some funds will go to the WRC – Doroff says there’s a lot in it for her organization, too.

“Our real objective is having people understand us and what we’re doing,” Doroff said. “The salmon sculptures will make people more aware of the dam decommissioning, our conservation activities and how to get involved and enjoy the area. It’s hard to reach a lot of people in this way except for situations like this.”

Will the organizations try to do “Salmon for the Sandy” again?

“I would say there’s a possibility of doing it again,” Plaeger said, noting it probably wouldn’t be next year. “We gotta look at if we can put that much energy together every year; it’s definitely a lot of work.”

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