13th Annual Daryle Seil Tall Tale Contest

We Challenge young writers to tell "Why Lamprey has So Many Teeth." Use your creativity, observations, and personal research to write an imaginative tale or fable. Draw a picture to enter our t-shirt design contest! Age/Grades: 1st - 8th Grade Deadline for Entries: February 15, 2008 at 5:00pm Awards and Readings: Tryon Creek State Park Earth Day Celebration April 27, 2008 2:00 - 4:00pm
Deadline: February 15, 2008 Send or bring entries to: Tall Tale Contest Friends of Tryon Creek State Park 11321 SW Terwilliger Blvd. Portland, OR 97219 Judging: All stories are reviewed in categories by grade. Depending on number of entries, some categories may contain more than one grade. Entries will be judged by volunteers from the Education Committee of the Friends of Tryon State Park. Awards and Readings: Winning stories are read and awards presented during the Friends of Tryon Creek State Park Earth Day Celebration Sunday, April 27, 2007, 2:00 - 4:00 Join us for the Park Parade @ 3:30! 1^st Place Prizes: $20 gift certificate to the Nature Store 2^nd Place Prizes: $10 gift certificate to the Nature Store Honorable Mentions: $5 gift certificates to the Nature Store For more information, contact: Sheilagh Diez (503) 636-4398 sheilagh@tryonfriends.org Tall Tale Brochure (pdf) <back to top>		Writing Contest Rules 1. Write an original short tale or fable about “Why Lamprey Has So Many Teeth”. We encourage both humorous and serious stories. 2. Entries should be no longer than 500 words. Longer submissions will receive lower marks in judging. 3. The story must be the student’s own work and written or typed by the student. 4. Please type or use very neat hand writing. 5. One entry per author. 6. Each entry must include the student’s name and grade in the upper right hand corner on the front. Each entry also needs the name, address, city, zip, and phone number of the student along with the name of his or her teacher and school and an appropriate e-mail on a separate page, attached to the entry. 7. Please keep a copy for yourself. Please Note: No stories will be returned.

	Pacific Lamprey Lampreta tridentata

Pacific lamprey (L. tridentata) are found along coastal areas from around Nome , AK down to California . They are an anadromous, parasitic species that are blue-black to dark brown on the upper body and a pale or silver lower body, while the fins are a dusky color. During spawning, they can appear to be reddish brown. Pacific lampreys are typically five to 28 inches long as adults. They remain as ammocoetes for four to five years at which time they metamorphose and move to sea. They feed at sea for about a year, and then return to fresh water in the fall before spawning in the spring. (from Alaska Department of Fish and Game)


Further information about lampreys can be found at: http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/fish/lampreys.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamprey http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/basalfish/petro.html http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ODFW/NativeFish/Lamprey.htm http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/SPECIES/lamprey/index.html Did you Know? This is a creature that has been around, unchanged for a couple of hundred million years - long before T.rex was around and long after T. rex died out. Pacific lamprey are the second longest lived andromous fish species in the PNW - approximately 9-11 years from egg to spawning. Although they are very different than salmon, the lamprey's life cycle and behavoirs are essentially the same as those for salmon. Pacific lamprey are native to the Columbia River and evolved sympatrically with other species in the river, unlike the invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes region The Miller Lake lamprey was a species thought to have gone extinct, but was recently rediscovered in some small feeder streams to Miller Lake. It is one of the smallest parasitic lampreys in North America. From Blaine Parker of Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Council www.critfc.org <back to top>

Tall Tale Art Exhibit & t-shirt design contest! Submissions Open to All! Choose one or the other or both.
1. Enter our first t-shirt design contest! Draw a picture showing “Why Lamprey Has So Many Teeth” in black ink. Drawings must be no larger than 8 1/2” x 11”. The winning drawing will be featured on this summer’s Nature Day Camp t-shirt! One entry per child. 2. Tell the story of “Why Lamprey Has So Many Teeth” through art! Make an original work of art inspired by your story and your imagination. Please, no pieces larger than 11” x 17”. Selected submissions will be displayed at our annual Earth Day Celebration. Art pieces act to highlight stories and will not receive awards. <back to top>