After banning cocks from Seattle, City Council President Richard Conlin has moved on to salmon. In a good way, that is.

When Conlin heard that budget cuts had forced the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to cut the Salmon in Schools program (this has nothing to do with improving school lunches, mind you, and instead teaches kids responsibility toward the environment), he tapped Seattle Public Utilities to find a way to support the program.

SPU has agreed to contribute $10,000 through the Restore Our Waters program annually, and salmon eggs have already been delivered to about 50 schools across the city so that students can watch them hatch, grow, and get released in local streams. Meanwhile, WDFW is trying to get funding from private (perhaps Tom Douglas could have another salmon bake?) or non-profit donors to continue the program if the cuts become permanent. SPU will take on the cost of maintaining the tanks used in Seattle schools and collaborate with watershed groups, school district staff, and teachers to keep the educational component of the program alive.

Every year, 40,000 students from approximately 495 schools in Washington signed up for the Salmon in Schools program.

“Environmental stewardship starts young,” Conlin said in a statement today. “Kids learn best by seeing and interacting with nature and wildlife. I hope that other municipalities and organizations around the state will do the same." With the state budget crisis only getting worse, it's a matter of time before more programs like this start being cut. Kudos to Conlin for making sure our kids still have their salmon.