The westslope cutthroat trout is recognized primarily by two red slashes on the lower jaw, biologist Jon Firehammer explained to a group of 15 students who gathered closely around him to see the fish Thursday morning.

Firehammer, a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and biologist with the Tribe's fishery, measured the length of a small trout as he prepared to tag it with a microchip called a PIT tag to track the fish and collect data. As the population of the native fish declines, biologists with the fishery are working to re-establish the number of fish in the area.

"We know exactly what stream these fish are going up to spawn in," Firehammer explained to the Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy students. "We know, based on those tags, how many of those fish are returning from the lake and how well they are surviving."

During the 14th annual Water Awareness Week event hosted by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, Firehammer and fisheries technician Dan Jolibois explained to students the history, process and importance of tagging the fish.

Members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe set up 10 different stations next to Lake Creek, located south of Coeur d'Alene near Worley, to educate students about water and the environment. Throughout the week, students from six elementary schools in the area, between fourth and eighth grades, visited the area to learn about water, fish, forestry, tribal culture and more.

"It is a celebration of water and the importance of it to the Coeur d'Alene people," said tribal member and event organizer Gina Baughn.

Averaging more than 100 students at the event each day, tribal member and event organizer Bobbi White said community members, tribal members, local neighbors and home-schooled children make appearances as well.

Nancy Larsen, Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy sixth-grade teacher, said she enjoys bringing students to the event each year.

"This is amazing," Larsen said. "And every year it gets better and better."

Shane Neirinckx, 12, said the information at the "Trout Life Cycle" station was one of the most important things he learned as he and his classmates from Charter made their way through the stations.

"The tagging station I think was really important so you know what needs to be done if the trout are dying or something is going wrong," Shane said.

This year was Shane's second time at the event and his dad, John, said it is a really good program for kids.

"The more they see it, the more it is going to stick," John said.

While Shane said the tagging was most important, he said the bugs — learning about all the different species in the local waters — was the most interesting. The "Macroinvertebrate Sampling and Analysis" station was popular among the students, set up with microscopes and several water bugs the students could hold, as well as one they could not.

"When you go to a pond, not everything is safe to touch," said fisheries biologist Bruce Kinkead as he pulled out a large bug. It resembled a cockroach, but its sharp beak can puncture leather and inject a toxin into its prey. The belostomatidae, commonly known as the "giant water bug," also has extremely strong legs and can pick up an 18-inch trout, Kinkead said.

Most of the stations had hands-on experience for the students. The kids snacked at the "Soil Analysis" station, where they used things like pudding, crushed pretzels and gummy worms to learn about the different layers of soil. At one station the students learned how pesticides, animal feces and other land pollution affects the quality of water in lakes and streams. They played games, stood in the teepees and also checked out the different styles of canoes — the small, lightweight "sturgeon-nosed" canoe and the long, heavy wooden "shovel-nosed" canoe, carved from a 28,000 pound log, that will soon take its maiden voyage.

Coeur d'Alene tribal member Anette Matt set up a station for tanning deer hides. She explained to the students that, historically, "everything you can think of" was made from hides — clothes, shoes, blankets, purses. All students were given a chance to help Matt tan a hide by removing the hair layer and the yellow layer underneath, creating a rawhide. To get the rawhide to soften, Matt said water and the brains of the animal are used. The process is called "brain tanning."

After Matt wet the hide so it would not tear, Alex Mitchell, a 12-year-old charter academy student, used a draw knife to remove some of the hair, noting that it was more difficult than he thought it would be. Mitchell said he enjoyed hide tanning and hoped to learn more throughout the morning about the importance of water and "how it affects us and life."