Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery

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Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery
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Location in Colorado
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Location in United States
General information
Address11466 State Highway 325
Town or city Rifle, Colorado
Coordinates 39°24′52″N107°25′13″W / 39.41446°N 107.42023°W / 39.41446; -107.42023 Coordinates: 39°24′52″N107°25′13″W / 39.41446°N 107.42023°W / 39.41446; -107.42023
Inaugurated1955

The Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located off East Rifle Creek near Rifle Falls State Park in Garfield County. [1]

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the state parks system and the wildlife of the U.S. State of Colorado. The division currently manages the 41 state parks and 307 wildlife areas of Colorado.

Fish hatchery place for artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of fish

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, shellfish, and crustaceans, primarily to support the aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems, such as fish farms, to reach harvest size. Some species that are commonly raised in hatcheries include Pacific oysters, shrimp, Indian prawns, salmon, tilapia and scallops. The value of global aquaculture production is estimated to be US$98.4 billion in 2008 with China significantly dominating the market; however, the value of aquaculture hatchery and nursery production has yet to be estimated. Additional hatchery production for small-scale domestic uses, which is particularly prevalent in South-East Asia or for conservation programmes, has also yet to be quantified.

Rifle Falls State Park

Rifle Falls State Park is a Colorado State Park located in Garfield County northeast of Rifle, Colorado. The central feature of the 48-acre (0.19 km2) park is a triple 70-foot (21 m) waterfall flowing over a travertine dam on East Rifle Creek. Commonly seen wildlife includes mule deer, elk, coyote, and golden-mantled ground squirrel. Rainbow and brown trout can be caught in the creek. Limestone cliffs near the falls have a few small caves and three species of bats. Visitor facilities include campsites, picnic sites and 2.0 miles (3.2 km) of hiking trails.

Contents

History

Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery was inaugurated in 1955. [2] It is the largest state-owned and operated trout production hatchery in Colorado. Water was irrigated directly from Rifle Creek and utilized 24 nursing ponds and 25 raceways. Currently, only 12 of 24 nursing ponds are used as to prevent spread of disease to Rifle Creek waters. [3]

Mission

An overarching mission among the hatchery staff is species restoration of the cutthroat trout to Colorado's western waters. Division of Wildlife biologists inform the hatchery director of where and when to stock the trout as to ensure restoration. They discover locations that require stocking from the Creel Census. [4]

Cutthroat trout species of fish

The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Fish species

Hatchery staff works to produce fingerlings and catchables of rainbow trout, Snake River cutthroat trout, brook trout, brown trout, and cutthroat trout. They stock these species in stream sections, lakes, and reservoirs in western Colorado and provides catchable trout for stocking along the Front Range. Cutthroat trout are also raised for aerial stocking. Their source of water comes from a groundwater spring. [5] The use of spring water maintains a constant temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Trout are raised in 40 raceways and transported by tanker truck to their stocking destination. They are released through a valve in the base of the tank. Stocking may be done manually in limited access areas. Stocking tends to occur between February - November. [6]

Rainbow trout species of trout

The rainbow trout is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to fresh water to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.

Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout subspecies of fish

The Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout is a form of the cutthroat trout which is considered either as a separate subspecies Oncorhynchus clarkii behnkei, or as a variety of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. The fish takes its common name from its original habitat, the Snake River of southern Idaho and western Wyoming, and from its unusual pattern of hundreds of small spots that cover most of its body, differing from the larger-spotted Yellowstone cutthroat pattern. Genetically it cannot be distinguished from the Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and before the construction of dams there were no physical barriers between the ranges of the two subspecies in the Snake river drainage.

Brook trout species of fish

The brook trout is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus Salvelinus of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere in North America, as well as to Iceland, Europe, and Asia. In parts of its range, it is also known as the eastern brook trout, speckled trout, brook charr, squaretail, or mud trout, among others. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior, as well as an anadromous population in Maine, is known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters. The brook trout is the state fish of nine U.S. states: Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the Provincial Fish of Nova Scotia in Canada.

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Fish stocking

Fish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake, or ocean to supplement existing populations or to create a population where none exists. Stocking may be done for the benefit of commercial, recreational, or tribal fishing, but may also be done to restore or increase a population of threatened or endangered fish in a body of water closed to fishing.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) is an agency of the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia. While formerly known as the cabinet-level Department of Natural Resources, it is now part of the West Virginia Department of Commerce. The WVDNR is responsible for wildlife management, hunting and fishing regulations, and boater safety and also oversees state parks and resorts. It also operates the West Virginia State Wildlife Center, a zoo in French Creek that exhibits West Virginian wildlife.

Lake Fish Hatchery Historic District

The Lake Fish Hatchery Historic District comprises nine buildings built between 1930 and 1932 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the National Park Service Rustic style. The buildings exhibit a consistency of style and construction, with exposed gable trusses and oversized paired logs at the corners, all with brown paint. The district is located on the shore of Yellowstone lake near the Lake Hotel The hatchery was established to provide Yellowstone cutthroat trout eggs for state and federal hatcheries outside Yellowstone.

Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery

The Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery, located in Independence, California, in the United States, is an historic fish hatchery that has played an important role in the preservation of the golden trout, California's state fish.

Bozeman National Fish Hatchery

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Bellvue-Watson Fish Hatchery

The Bellvue-Watson Fish Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located near Cache la Poudre River and Watson Lake State Wildlife Area in Larimer County, Colorado. Hatchery staff works to support the raising of approximately 1.5 million sub-catchable trout annually. The Watson Lake Rearing Unit, a division within the hatchery, is responsible for rearing approximately 300,000 catchable trout each year. The hatchery stocks fishing sports in Wellington, Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Jumbo Reservoir near Julesburg and Hale ponds.

Crystal River Hatchery

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Durango Fish Hatchery

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Glenwood Springs Hatchery

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Mt. Shavano Hatchery

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Pitkin Hatchery

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Poudre Rearing Unit

The Poudre Rearing Unit is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located near Cache la Poudre River at the base of South Bald Mountain in Larimer County. It is considered one of the smaller units in Colorado.

Roaring Judy Hatchery

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References

  1. ↑ "Fish Hatcheries". cpw.state.co.us. Colorado Parks & Wildlife.
  2. ↑ Wiltzius, William. "Fish Culture and Stocking in Colorado, 1872-1978" (PDF). Native Fish Lab. Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  3. ↑ "Rifle hatchery: 'Our mission is your fishin'". The Aspen Times. The Associated Press. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  4. ↑ "Rifle hatchery: 'Our mission is your fishin'". The Aspen Times. The Associated Press. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  5. ↑ McGovern, Maura (18 January 2011). "Water Quality Control Vision Fact Sheet" (PDF). Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Control Division: 1–24. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Rifle hatchery: 'Our mission is your fishin'". The Aspen Times. The Associated Press. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
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