A snowflake forms high in the clouds

with billions of others they move like a crowd

they swirl, in the wind they fall, and are stacked

on top of a mountain in a snow pack

flake upon flake, storm after storm

the snow pack builds, and the great bank forms

a great bank of snow reflecting sunlight

below people point and say“What a beautiful sight !”

“What a beautiful sight !”“What a beautiful sight !”

beautiful yes ! so important too !

for animals, birds, fish, me and you

for as the snow melts each creek delivers

newly formed water into the river

it flows down the mountain it surges and gushes

and into that force the old salmon rushes

back to the place where it’s life started

where it hatched from an egg and as a small fry, darted

as a small fry, darted. as a small fry, darted

the fry grows and goes eventually down

with the flow of the river to the bay or the sound

from the fresh water river to the salt water sea

it makes that change in the estuary

where the water is brackish, fresh and saltwater mixed

where the little fish, can change, adapt and be fixed

to deal with the salt water it will find in the sea

as it heads out to the ocean where it’s new life will be

where it’s new life will be. where it’s new life will be

it has to avoid those wanting a meal

The Orca, sea lion, the humans, the seal

it heads north then south round and round it goes

and for the salmon it all depends on the snow

for the rivers are fed by thousands of streams

that the forests and wetlands filter and clean

So from below when you see that great white snow pack

you can point and say, ”that’s why the salmon come back !”

”that’s why the salmon come back !” ”that’s why the salmon come back !”

Here they come, it’s the Salmon Run

back to where they started from

They dart and dash, they jump and splash

look in the water! see that silver flash

avoid the hook, avoid the bear

jump into the air JUMP JUMP JUMP

fight the current follow the course

jump up to your source JUMP JUMP JUMP

CHORUS

go below the net, over the seal

don’t become a meal JUMP JUMP JUMP

duck the orca, the sea lion too

you know what to do JUMP JUMP JUMP

CHORUS

It’s the cycle the salmon life cycle

with so many miles to go

from egg to fry to smelt that try

to hide while trying to grow

to reach the ocean the great wide ocean

becoming adults that can thrive

and when the time comes they know what’s to be done

to keep their species alive ALIVE, ALIVE

CHORUS

1st Verse

CHORUS

2ND Verse

CHORUS

Otters of the Sea, Wolfs of Yellowstone

Eat the species that destroy the other species home

Salmon feed so many, beavers build the dams

That create the woodland ponds

Where the ducks can land

Keystone Species, let ‘em live, let ‘em work

Keystone Species, let ‘em live, let ‘em work

Up in the Rockies, or in the Salish Sea

Healthy Habitats depend on Keystone Species

Some species, other species

All depend upon

And if those species disappear

The other species will be gone

When some species do what they do

All the rest can live

Because healthy habitats

Is what Keystone Species give

Chorus

Orca’s will whistle Orca’s will squeak

Orca’s will click that’s how the Orca speaks

They speak to each other we don’t know what they say

but if you watch them closely you know they like to play

They Slap their fins against the water

They Slap their flukes too

They breach and teach their sons and daughters

that what orca’s do

Biggest of the dolphins Top predator of the sea

they’re fast and smart and work together

adaptably

Orca’s will whistle Orca’s will squeak

Orca’s will click that’s how the Orca speaks

They speak to each other we don’t know what they say

but if you watch them closely you know they like to play

The fish will always flee when the Orca comes

when the Orca clicks the fish are stopped and stunned

they can hunt like that or blow a wall of bubbles

around a school of fish for the school that means trouble

chomp, chomp, chomp

it means trouble

chomp chomp chomp chomp

Resident’s eat KING SALMON,

Transients eat THE SEALS

Coastals eat GREAT WHITE SHARKS For a great big Meal !

Now let me tell you all about a community

Living on the rocks by the edge of the sea

The rocks are big, the rocks are heavy

So critters stick to em, rock steady

The big waves crash, the critters get pounded

But that’s their home and they’re glad they found it

Covered in water in the high tide

Catching food as it drifts by

When the tide gets low, oh they hunker down

Close their shell, hope they don’t get found

Some are predators , some are prey

Some are stuck, some can slip away

The tide comes in and then goes out

The birds land and check it out

Check it out peck peck peck peck

Living in the intertidal zone

Half the battle is holding on

Hold on Hold on

Attach to a rock or you’ll be gone

The water’s heavy, the current strong

With glue or suction, you’ll hold on

So much larvae drifts with the sea

Most get eaten, some drift free

They will settle in a spot where they belong

Quickly change their form as they hold on

Yes Barnacle larvae squirm and float

When they attach they can’t locamote

Attached to a rock, crab or vessel

Scientists say “that critter is sessile”

If, Sedentary, they don’t move much

Like anemones who react to your touch

When the tide comes in, some critters move

Under water, the sea stars do

You got barnacles, lipets, all kinds of crabs

Even bull kelp grow on the rocks they grab

You’ve got the sun and moon of course

with powerful gravitational force

that pulls on the water of the oceans

so the intertidal stays in motion

high tide low tide, all life must

twice a day, adapt and adjust

to the zone where they live

and what the high, low and middle zone gives

how much air, how much sun,

how much eating can be done

are the critters sessile or sedentary

moving around or deeply buried

so go to the shore, you won’t be alone

living in the intertidal zone

Seagulls squawk, Eagles Fly

From North and South Ducks drop by

Falcons hunt, the hunted flee

it's rich and tricky in the Salish Sea

birds on the shore at low tide

pecking at the critters who are trying to hide

under all that flat algae

living is tricky in the Salish sea

the Salish Sea, cold and rich with living things

the Salish Sea, twice a day the tide swings

The Salish Sea, the Georgian straights, the Puget Sound

the Salish sea, salmon swim, orca's sound

treat ‘em right they'll stick around

migrating birds of the water,

fish and feed with the river otter

they're just here temporarily

flying all around the Salish Sea

Watch ‘em circle, watch ‘em rise

watch ‘em look you in the eye

watch ‘em land in the tree

flying all around the Salish Sea

Chorus
Stick Around if the air clean, if the water is too

Orca's breech, the seals bark

way down deep there's the six gill shark

on the rocks the sea star rules

people bend over in the tidal pools

Harbor Seals, Sea lions too

cuise the kelp, swimming on through

fish are hiding in kelp leaves

all together in the Salish Sea

Chorus

Chorus

Around the world
there are crabs of every size and type
with big claws to grab whatever’s in sight.
And when they grow out
of their old shell, their new shell is soft.
They hide for a spell, get hard and take off...

Cause they're,
Doing the crab step
on land or in the depths,
moving sideways to get where they get.
If danger appears, they try to hide,
but if they can’t, they’ll face it
with their claws open wide, open wide.
(wide so wide, wide so wide)

The back legs are paddles for swimming
through the depths and the dregs
or on the surface skimming
paddling forward, paddling back
paddle side to side, retreat or attack
Jump back, crab attack, jump back, crab attack
Don’t worry, it’s a cinch,
just keep your feet moving and you won’t get pinched

Now, go to the salt marsh, and you will find
crabs all around in the grassy brine
and the mud underground.
And if they spot you, with their extended eyes,
then they’ll start to move as you realize
that they’re...

Doing the crab step on land or in the depths,
moving sideways to get where they get
the joints of their legs point to the side.
And if danger appears, the claws open wide, open wide.
(wide so wide, wide so wide)

They’re doing the crab step on land or in the depths,
moving sideways to get where they get
And if danger appears they try to hide,
but if they can’t they face it with
their claws open wide, open wide.

Watch out !

Mud and dead things washing down the river,
settling on the bottom of the bay.
Decomposers eat those dead things
releasing their minerals every day.

Phytoplankton, little plants floating
using those nutrients while soaking up the sun.
Zooplankton are the little critters
that drift with the phytos while eating some.

CHORUS
It’s where the ocean feeds
on what the river carries.
It’s where the fresh and salt water mix
with the leaves, the mud, and the sticks.
It’s a soup of life, and it’s thick!
Whoa, it’s the estuary!

Oyster beds and underwater grass
give food and shelter to many living things.
Clams and snails and little fish hiding
from the appetites the big fish bring.

Rock and blue fish chase anchovies.
Great blue heron stalk the water’s edge.
Eagles and osprey fishing and flying
as the gulls circle overhead.

CHORUS

From the clouds I drop,
I hit the roof, kerplop.
I go out of the spout and I never stop.
I spray and I spurt,
I grab a little dirt
and when I meet the street it gets even worse
Onto the road I drain
I pass an oily stain
Then I go with the flow down the passing lane
I spurt and I spray,
nothing gets in my way
I might make it on down to the Bay today

CHORUS

Water with the power to erode
Water carrying a heavy load
Water running off the land,
That’s Runoff, Man!
Water running when it rains
Water running toward the drains
Water running off the land,
That’s Runoff, Man!

All life is fed
on things that are dead
decomposition is nutrition in the watershed
But by accident,
our development
increases the release of the nutrients
So the water’s force
takes that stuff from it’s source
and it moves down the groove of the waters course
Into the bay it flows,
it makes the algae grow
and that chokes the critter folks living down below
water carries a nutritious load
that will make the algae growth explode
Water running out across the land,
That’s Runoff Man!
Water running when it rains
Water running toward the drains
Water running off the land,
That’s Runoff, Man!
Say what?
That’s Runoff, Man!
That's Right!

Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
CHORUS
Barnacles, barnacles, where are you?
Stuck on stuff with my barnacle glue!
Barnacles, barnacles, where are you?
On the rocks and the whales
and the big ships too!

Adrift in the ocean, an egg floating free,
when I hatch I’m almost too small to see.
I look like an insect, then a shrimp. It’s strange!
How much in my life my body will change!

Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,

CHORUS

I stick my head to whatever’s found.
Secrete my glue to hold myself down.
I grow a shell, which can open and close.
Grab food with my legs and my hairy toes!

Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,
Ou lie, lie, lie, oh, lie, lie, lie,

Barnacles, barnacles, where are you?
with Barnacle Bill the sailor...