Saratoga National Fish Hatchery

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The Saratoga National Fish Hatchery visitor center Saratoga National Fish Hatchery (18712552763).jpg
The Saratoga National Fish Hatchery visitor center

Saratoga National Fish Hatchery is part of the National Fish Hatchery System operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It is located northeast of Saratoga, Wyoming and, along with the Jackson National Fish Hatchery, is one of two National fish hatcheries operating in Wyoming. Saratoga NHF is primarily a broodstock hatchery; it maintains several healthy adults to produce sperm and eggs and distributes fertilized eggs to production hatcheries throughout the country to be hatched and grown to stockable sizes. It is also one of several organizations to establish a program for breeding Wyoming toads.

The National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) was established by the U.S. Congress in 1871 through the creation of a U.S. Commissioner for Fish and Fisheries. This system of fish hatcheries is now administered by the Fisheries Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service US Federal Government agency

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency of the US Federal Government within the US Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."

Saratoga, Wyoming Town in Wyoming, United States

Saratoga is a town in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,690 at the 2010 census.

Contents

History

The Saratoga NFH was established in 1911 and construction of its facilities began in March 1915. It was originally established to meet stock demands in Wyoming and to be expanded as the state grew. [1] While it had maintained a wide variety of broodstock from its opening in 1915, Saratoga NFH was not officially designated a broodstock hatchery until 1966. [2] The facilities of the Saratoga NFH were renovated and expanded in 1995 and 1996. [3]

Activities

Wyoming toads at the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery Wyoming Toads Eating Worms (5348162354).jpg
Wyoming toads at the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery

Saratoga NFH has broodstock for egg production of various subspecies of lake trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout. Saratoga NFH also rears Yellowstone cutthroat trout for stock in various federal and state parks and for tribal lands in Wyoming. [4] Saratoga NFH produces Lewis lake trout eggs for the Great Lakes Restoration Project, Plymouth Rock brown trout for various hatcheries nationwide [5] and holds backup broodstock for McConaughy rainbow trout. [6]

Lake trout species of fish

Lake trout is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush,lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also be variously known as siscowet, paperbelly and lean. The lake trout is prized both as a game fish and as a food fish. Those caught with dark coloration may be called mud hens.

Brown trout species of brown trout

The brown trout is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes both purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, Salmo trutta morpha fario, and a lacustrine ecotype, S. trutta morpha lacustris, also called the lake trout, as well as anadromous forms known as the sea trout, S. trutta morpha trutta. The latter migrates to the oceans for much of its life and returns to fresh water only to spawn. Sea trout in the Ireland and Britain have many regional names: sewin in Wales, finnock in Scotland, peal in the West Country, mort in North West England, and white trout in Ireland.

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.

Tagging studies show that 75 percent of trout caught from Lake Huron were produced by the Saratoga NFH. [7]

Lake Huron one of the Great Lakes of North America

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as its westerly counterpart, to which it is connected by the 5-mile-wide (8.0 km), 20-fathom-deep Straits of Mackinac. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the state of Michigan in the United States. The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it for the Huron people inhabiting the region. The Huronian glaciation was named due to evidence collected from Lake Huron region. The northern parts of the lake include the North Channel and Georgian Bay. Across the lake to the southwest is Saginaw Bay. The main inlet is the St. Marys River, and the main outlet is the St. Clair River.

Saratoga NFH was one of several hatcheries that had made efforts towards the reintroduction of greenback cutthroat trout in various lakes and rivers by 2002. [8]

Greenback cutthroat trout subspecies of fish

The greenback cutthroat trout is the easternmost subspecies of cutthroat trout. The greenback cutthroat, once widespread in the Arkansas and South Platte River drainages of Eastern Colorado and Southeast Wyoming, today occupies less than 1% of its historical range. It is currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. It was adopted as the state fish of Colorado on March 15, 1994 replacing the unofficial rainbow trout.

In 1997, Saratoga NFH began breeding Wyoming toads as refugia and for future reintroduction efforts. It was the first in the NFHS to use its resources to raise endangered amphibians. [5] It has since supplied hundreds of adult toads to Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge and other locations for reintroduction, including more than 900 adult toads in a single release in June 2016. [9]

Refugium (population biology)

In biology, a refugium is a location which supports an isolated or relict population of a once more widespread species. This isolation (allopatry) can be due to climatic changes, geography, or human activities such as deforestation and overhunting.

Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in southern Albany County in the U.S. state of Wyoming and includes 1,776 acres (7.2 km2). The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Mortensen Lake NWR is a high altitude refuge and has several small alpine lakes of which Mortenson Lake is the largest. At 7,256 feet (2,211 m) above sea level, the refuge provides protection for numerous migratory bird species.

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Pyramid Lake (Nevada) lake in Nevada, United States

Pyramid Lake is the geographic sink of the basin of the Truckee River, 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Reno, Nevada, United States.

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 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.

Lahontan cutthroat trout subspecies of fish

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.

Yellowstone cutthroat trout freshwater fish in the salmon family in the United States

The Yellowstone cutthroat trout is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout. It is a freshwater fish in the salmon family. Native only to a few U.S. states, their original range was upstream of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River and tributaries in Wyoming, also across the Continental Divide in Yellowstone Lake and in the Yellowstone River as well as its tributaries downstream to the Tongue River in Montana. The species is also found in Idaho, Utah and Nevada.

Wyoming toad species of amphibian

The Wyoming toad or Baxter's toad is an extremely rare amphibian that exists only in captivity and within Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming in the United States. The Wyoming toad was listed as an endangered species in 1984, and listed as extinct in the wild since 1991. Before the sharp declines occurred, this toad was classified as a subspecies of the Canadian toad.

Colorado River cutthroat trout subspecies of fish

The Colorado River cutthroat trout is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native only to the Green and Colorado River basins, which are west of the Continental Divide. Cutthroat trout found in other river basins belong to other subspecies.

Bonytail chub species of fish

The bonytail chub or bonytail is a cyprinid freshwater fish native to the Colorado River basin of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the southwestern United States; it has been extirpated from the part of the basin in Mexico. It was once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers and range have declined to the point where it has been listed as endangered since 1980 (ESA) and 1986 (IUCN), a fate shared by the other large Colorado basin endemic fish species like the Colorado pikeminnow, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. It is now the rarest of the endemic big-river fishes of the Colorado River. There are 20 species in the genus Gila, seven of which are found in Arizona.

Jackson National Fish Hatchery

Jackson National Fish Hatchery is a National fish hatchery in Jackson, Wyoming. The hatchery is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The hatchery is physically located on the National Elk Refuge, a protected feeding ground for elk that winter in the Jackson Hole valley. The fish hatchery produces fish for a 18,000-square-mile (47,000 km2) distribution area in Wyoming and Idaho.

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery is a National Fish Hatchery located just below Wolf Creek Dam in Russell County, Kentucky. The hatchery is a federal hatchery and is a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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.

Cutbow

A cutbow is an interspecific fertile hybrid between a rainbow trout and a cutthroat trout. Cutbow hybrids may occur naturally where the native ranges of both species overlap--coastal rainbow trout and coastal cutthroat trout and Columbia River redband trout and westslope cutthroat trout. However, natural separation of spawning habitat limited hybridization in most native populations of rainbows and cutthroats. Introduction of non-native hatchery raised rainbow trout into the native ranges of cutthroat subspecies increased the rate of hybridization. Some native cutthroat populations are at risk due to genetic pollution.

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.

Allegheny National Fish Hatchery

The Allegheny National Fish Hatchery was established by Congress in 1959 to produce rainbow, brook, and brown trout for northwestern Pennsylvania streams. Construction began in the late 1960s. Fish production began on site in 1974.

White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility located along the historic Midland Trail in the Allegheny Highlands of southeast West Virginia. It was established in 1900 to produce fish for the American Public. This fish hatchery became part of the National Broodstock Program in 1976. Since then, hatchery personnel have been working to ship millions of disease-free rainbow trout eggs to hatcheries across the country.

White River National Fish Hatchery American fish production facility

The White River National Fish Hatchery is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coldwater fish production facility located near Bethel, Vermont. Hatchery staff works to support both the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program and the Lower Great Lakes Lake Trout Restoration Program. The White River National Fish Hatchery is one of four offices in the Western New England Complex.

Bozeman National Fish Hatchery

The Bozeman National Fish Hatchery, now known as Bozeman Fish Technology Center, is located about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Bozeman, Montana, at the entrance to Bridger Canyon. There is also a National Fish Health Center on the southwest side of Bozeman, near Montana State University, about 7 miles (11 km) away from the Fish Technology Center. Fish Technology Centers work with a wide variety of public and private partners to improve and conserve aquatic resources. Both the Fish Technology Center and the Fish Health Center are part of the National Fish Hatchery System, operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. There are seven Fish Technology Centers and nine Fish Health Centers in the United States. The Bozeman hatchery is the fourth oldest National Fish Hatchery. The hatchery was named to the National Register of Historic Places on January 6, 1983.

References

  1. ↑ Perue, Dick. "Postcard from the Past - Fish Hatchery Opens in 1915". www.wylr.net. Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Saratoga (WY) National Fish Hatchery Celebrates 100 Years in Operation". www.westernbass.com. Western Bass. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Carbon County Wyoming - Saratoga". www.wyomingcarboncounty.com. Carbon County Visitors Council. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Saratoga National Fish Hatchery". www.fws.gov. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Saratoga National Fish Hatchery, Wyoming: Restoring America's Lakes" (PDF). fws.gov. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "Saratoga National Fish Hatchery". www.recreation.gov. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Springer, Craig. "Wyoming Fishing: Brood Stock Hatcheries". www.anglerguide.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Young, Michael K; Harig, Amy L; Rosenlund, Bruce; Kennedy, Chris. "Recovery History of the Greenback Cutthroat Trout: Population Characteristics, Hatchery Involvement, and Bibliography" (PDF). United States Forest Service. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Newman, Eve. "Hundreds of adult toads released in Laramie River basin". laramieboomerang.com. Laramie Boomerang. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
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