| Roaring Judy Hatchery | |
|---|---|
  Location in Colorado  Location in United States | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Almont, Colorado |
| Coordinates | 38°25′32″N106°30′18″W / 38.42562°N 106.50496°W |
| Inaugurated | 1963 |
The Roaring Judy Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located on East River at the base of Flat Top mountain in Gunnison County. It is home to the largest known kokanee salmon run in the United States. [1]
Roaring Judy Hatchery was inaugurated in 1963. [2]
An overarching mission among the hatchery staff is the preservation of cutthroat trout. In 2016, the facility rescued 158 unique cutthroat trout from Hayden Creek after the Hayden Pass Wildfire. Biologists are working to spawn them to preserve a unique genetic line, and a link to Colorado's fishing history. [3]
Hatchery staff works to support the production of over 3 million kokanee salmon fry, 100,000 subcatchable trout, and 180,000 catchable trout. Their source of water comes from groundwater spring and well water. [4] Salmon are released into the East River through underground pipes. This process is done at night to give high survival odds. After release, salmon come back to the hatchery after approximately three years and ten months. They are able to do so through sensitive odor-detection to locate their birth water. The hatchery staff then strips the eggs and sperm to reproduce the salmon. [5]
Trout is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo and Salvelinus, all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the family Salmonidae. The word trout is also used for some similar-shaped but non-salmonid fish, such as the spotted seatrout/speckled trout.
The rainbow trout is a species of trout 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 freshwater 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.
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.
Oncorhynchus is a genus of ray-finned fish in the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae, native to coldwater tributaries of the North Pacific basin. The genus contains twelve extant species, namely six species of Pacific salmon and six species of Pacific trout, all of which are migratory mid-level predatory fish that display natal homing and semelparity.
Lahontan cutthroat trout is the largest subspecies of cutthroat trout, and the state fish of Nevada. It is one of three subspecies of cutthroat trout that are listed as federally threatened.
The westslope cutthroat trout, also known as the black-spotted trout, common cutthroat trout and red-throated trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish. This subspecies is a species of concern in its Montana and British Columbia ranges and is considered threatened in its native range in Alberta.
Quartz Creek is a stream in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States, that is a tributary of Tomichi Creek.
The kokanee salmon, also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or Walla, is the non-anadromous form of the sockeye salmon. There is some debate as to whether the kokanee and its sea-going relative are separate species; geographic isolation, failure to interbreed, and genetic distinction point toward a recent divergence in the history of the two groups. The divergence most likely occurred around 15,000 years ago when a large ice melt created a series of freshwater lakes and rivers across the northern part of North America. While some members of the salmon and trout family (salmonids) went out to sea (anadromous), others stayed behind in fresh water (non-anadromous). The separation of the sockeye and the kokanee created a unique example of sympatric speciation that is relatively new in evolutionary terms. While they occupy the same areas and habitats during the breeding season, when ocean-going sockeye salmon return to freshwater to spawn, the two populations do not mate with each other in some regions, suggesting speciation.
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.
The Chalk Cliffs Rearing Unit is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located near Arkansas River and Chalk Creek in Chaffee County, Colorado. Hatchery staff works to support the raising of approximately 700,000 catchable, ten-inch rainbow trout annually. The hatchery stocks fish along the Front Range from Loveland to the New Mexico border, and east almost to the Kansas border.
The Crystal River Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold-water fish production facility located along the Crystal River in Garfield County, Colorado, near Carbondale. The hatchery raises rainbow trout and Snake River cutthroat trout brood fish. The millions of eggs from these brood fish are shipped to other hatcheries to be raised for stocking.
The Durango Fish Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located near the Animas River in Durango, Colorado. The hatchery staff raise rainbow, brown, Snake River and native cutthroat trout, and kokanee salmon.
The Finger Rock Rearing Unit is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located near Bear River in Routt County at the base of Flat Tops Wilderness Area.
The Glenwood Springs Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located on Mitchell Creek near the Colorado River in Garfield County, which is 2 miles north of West Glenwood Springs.
The Mt. Shavano Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located near Arkansas River headwaters at the base of Big Baldy Mountain in Chaffee County. This facility is considered one of the largest trout units in the state.
The Pitkin Hatchery is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold water fish production facility located in Gunnison National Forest right off of Quartz Creek Valley in Gunnison County.
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.
The Pueblo Hatchery is the only Colorado Parks and Wildlife cold and warm water fish production facility located in Lake Pueblo State Park near Arkansas River in Pueblo County.
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.