Warrenton High School (Oregon)
Encyclopedia
Warrenton High School is a public high school in Warrenton, Oregon
, United States
. It is home to one of the first on-campus high school fish hatcheries and aquaculture programs in the State of Oregon.
. Of 70 students, 60 graduated, 8 dropped out, and 2 are still in high school.
class in the early 1960s. The program was conceived and began in the later parts of the 1950s. It started with rearing salmonids
in buckets and releasing them into the on-campus Skipanon River
, and grew to eventually being one of the pioneers of netpen rearing in the Pacific Northwest, with the first netpens built in the 1960s. Warrenton was founded under water and after its diking and incorporation as a city, it still was mostly wetland
-- the fish rearing operation had only a 2"x6" wide, wooden catwalk as the only means of reaching the operation, until the early 1970s when the Oregon National Guard cleared and built a road to the pump shed. The first on-campus fish hatchery
was built in 1974 by the aquaculture, shop, welding, and PE classes alongside community volunteers directing the engineering.
During the early to mid 1980s, the operations expanded to the Warrenton Municipal Sewer Ponds in the form of net pens. This operation recorded extremely high growth rates. The fish were tested and later released. The test results revealed that the fish were healthy and consumable, despite their environment.
A new 2000 sq ft (185.8 m²) fisheries rearing and research facility was built by Warrenton High Fisheries, Incorporated (or WarHF), a non-profit corporation founded in 2005 by a then sophomore, Henry Balensifer. It was finished in 2007.
In 2010, WarHF received funds from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Restoration and Enhancement Board to assist in the construction of the first rain powered hatchery in the state. While it may be the first in the nation, that claim has not yet been officially vetted.
Warrenton, Oregon
Warrenton is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The city is named for D.K. Warren, an early settler. The population was 4,096 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is home to one of the first on-campus high school fish hatcheries and aquaculture programs in the State of Oregon.
Academics
In 2008, 86% of the school's seniors received their high school diplomaHigh school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
. Of 70 students, 60 graduated, 8 dropped out, and 2 are still in high school.
Fisheries program
The Fisheries Program at WHS started out as the "fish farm club" and later became the aquacultureAquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
class in the early 1960s. The program was conceived and began in the later parts of the 1950s. It started with rearing salmonids
Salmonidae
Salmonidae is a family of ray-finned fish, the only living family currently placed in the order Salmoniformes. It includes salmon, trout, chars, freshwater whitefishes and graylings...
in buckets and releasing them into the on-campus Skipanon River
Skipanon River
The Skipanon River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It is the last tributary of the Columbia on the Oregon side, draining an area of coastal bottom land bordered by sand dunes and entering the river from the...
, and grew to eventually being one of the pioneers of netpen rearing in the Pacific Northwest, with the first netpens built in the 1960s. Warrenton was founded under water and after its diking and incorporation as a city, it still was mostly wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
-- the fish rearing operation had only a 2"x6" wide, wooden catwalk as the only means of reaching the operation, until the early 1970s when the Oregon National Guard cleared and built a road to the pump shed. The first on-campus fish hatchery
Fish hatchery
A fish hatchery is a "place for artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of animals, finfish and shellfish in particular". Hatcheries produce larval and juvenile fish primarily to support the aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems...
was built in 1974 by the aquaculture, shop, welding, and PE classes alongside community volunteers directing the engineering.
During the early to mid 1980s, the operations expanded to the Warrenton Municipal Sewer Ponds in the form of net pens. This operation recorded extremely high growth rates. The fish were tested and later released. The test results revealed that the fish were healthy and consumable, despite their environment.
A new 2000 sq ft (185.8 m²) fisheries rearing and research facility was built by Warrenton High Fisheries, Incorporated (or WarHF), a non-profit corporation founded in 2005 by a then sophomore, Henry Balensifer. It was finished in 2007.
In 2010, WarHF received funds from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Restoration and Enhancement Board to assist in the construction of the first rain powered hatchery in the state. While it may be the first in the nation, that claim has not yet been officially vetted.