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The Weekender, insert of The Enterprise, Summer 1996, page __

HATCHERIES FETE 100 YEARS

When visitors try to imagine the Columbia River as the free flowing river that was here before the dams were built, most of them don't see a fish hatchery in the picture. But to imagine the Pacific Northwest without Salmon is unthinkable. The vastly reduced Salmon population is a warning of the consequences of changing the aquatic systems to meet human demands.
Hundreds of years ago, salmon in the Columbia River and many of its tributaries were so plentiful that no one anticipated the time when harvest would be controlled or curtailed to protect the few remaining fish as they return to their natal streams to spawn. As early as the mid- to late-1800s, degraded spawning habitat and commercial harvest to supply canneries combined to take a toll on salmon. The pressure of an ever-growing human population along the river has increased demands upon the watershed for timber, minerals, water for agriculture and domestic use, and dams for flood control and hydroelectric power production and use of the river for transportation. One approach to offset the changes for salmon brought about by people has been to produce the fish at hatcheries.
To many people's surprise, federal hatcheries were operating as early as 1896 at the site of the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery in Cook, and 1901 at what is now the Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery in Underwood. The hatcheries will be highlighting their role in making sure salmon don't become just a memory. Special events at the hatcheries, articles in local publications, and a display at the interpretive center in Stevenson are just a few other things we have to look forward to over the next several years. Because of the flood damage this past winter, centennial plans have been canceled for summer 1996.
The Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery began taking eggs in 1896, was authorized by the federal government in March 1887 to rear salmon, and was in full operation by 1898. Salmon return up the Columbia River, into the Little White Salmon River at Drano Lake, and into the hatchery with the eggs are taken and fertilized in a state-of-the-art spawning operation. The hatchery now raises spring and fall chinook. Coho salmon eggs collected at the Little White Salmon hatchery are taken to the Willard hatchery where the fish are raised until their release into the Little White Salmon River.
Salmon produced by the hatchery provide fish for Tribal, commercial and recreational harvest. Visitors are always welcome to tour the hatchery, watch the spawning operation, and enjoy the beauty of the river.
The hatchery grounds provide excellent opportunities to see salmon returning up the river, enjoy wild flowers in the spring, and watch aquatic birds, Eagles, osprey, and even the occasional mink, river otter or beaver.
The Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery began as an egg collection station in 1901 using the spring water that comes from the base of the basalt cliffs alongside the Columbia River at Underwood. The spring water that now attracts from 7,000 to 10,000 Tule fall chinook back to the hatchery each September is circulated in a unique reuse system that uses oyster shell as a biological filter.
The migration pattern of the adult salmon make this stock a major contributor to the commercial and recreational salmon harvest along the Washington coast and the Tribal and recreational harvest in the Columbia River.
The Tules return each September and are held in the hatchery for only a few weeks before they are spawned. The hatchery staff spawn fish daily during the peak of the season which lasts from about the second week of September until the first or second week of October.
Visitors are welcome to come to the hatchery daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to tour the hatchery, enjoy the beautiful views of the Columbia River and Mt. Hood, and watch the windsurfers who flock to this world-class sailing site during the spring and summer.
This year, Spring Creek hatchery will hold its annual Visitors Weekend on Sept. 21 and 22.
The Carson National Fish Hatchery is located on the Wind River Highway, 14 miles north of the Columbia River. This federal hatchery raises spring chinook salmon that return up the Wind River, Tyee Creek and then into the hatchery. The hatchery, originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937, releases over two million smolts annually and supplies millions of eggs to another hatcheries.
Spring chinook salmon travel great distances once they reach the ocean and few are caught at sea. The fish do, however, make an important contribution to the Columbia River fishery. Spring chinook began returning to the hatchery in May and are spawned on Monday mornings in August. Visitors are welcome to tour the hatchery and watchd the spawning operation.
Because of the flood damage, the roads beyond the Carson hatchery that normally allow visitors access to Mount St. Helens and other points north are closed. Travelers should contact the Forest Service for updates on road closures.
Staff at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Information and Education Office at the Little White Salmon hatchery will be glad to arrange special tours of any of the three hatcheries, or provide educational programs or guest speakers. Call (509) 538-2242 for more information.