White River National Fish Hatchery

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White River National Fish Hatchery
White River National Fish Hatchery in Bethel, Vermont.jpg
Front view of the White River National Fish Hatchery.
White River National Fish Hatchery
General information
Address2086 River Street
Town or city Bethel, Vermont
Inaugurated1984
Renovated2012
Website
http://www.fws.gov/whiterivernfh/

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 (since 1978) 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.

Contents

Western New England Complex

The four offices of the Western New England Complex—Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, Dwight D. Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery, White River National Fish Hatchery and Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Resource Complex—work in concert to produce and manage fishery resources for restoration efforts in the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain. [1] In addition, habitat conservation and restoration efforts are enacted throughout the four primary watersheds of Western New England to support fish and wildlife resources. This integrated approach to species and habitat management helps promote their goal of ecosystem conservation and restoration while providing recreational opportunities for the public.

Mission

The mission of the hatchery was to produce and release Atlantic salmon fry in tributaries throughout the Connecticut River watershed. The hatchery previously supplied over 650,000 lake trout yearlings for stocking Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. [2]

Flood

The hatchery was damaged during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. As a result, it was decommissioned for a period of years while undergoing $2.3 million in repairs. [3] It reopened in July 2017. [4]

Related Research Articles

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The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats in the United States. 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."

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Hole River</span> River in Montana, United States

The Big Hole River is a tributary of the Jefferson River, approximately 153 miles (246 km) long, in Beaverhead County, in southwestern Montana, United States. It is the last habitat in the contiguous United States for native fluvial Arctic grayling and is a historically popular destination for fly fishing, especially for trout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbow trout</span> Fresh-water species of fish

The rainbow trout is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. 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.

Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus) or Columbia River redband trout. Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and North America. Like other sea-run (anadromous) trout and salmon, steelhead spawn in freshwater, smolts migrate to the ocean to forage for several years and adults return to their natal streams to spawn. Steelhead are iteroparous, although survival is only approximately 10–20%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutthroat trout</span> Species of fish

The cutthroat trout is a group of four fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. These four species are the Coastal, Westslope, Lahontan, and the Rocky Mountain. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is in the Pacific trout group, which 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic grayling</span> Species of fish

The Arctic grayling is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. T. arcticus is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Missouri River drainage in Montana. In the U.S. state of Arizona, an introduced population is found in the Lee Valley and other lakes in the White Mountains. They were also stocked at Toppings Lake by the Teton Range and in lakes in the high Uinta Mountains in Utah, as well as alpine lakes of the Boulder Mountains (Idaho) in central Idaho.

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<i>Oncorhynchus</i> Genus of fishes

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.

Puget Sound salmon recovery is a collective effort of federal, state and local authorities and non-profit coalitions of universities, scientists, business and industry aimed at restoring Pacific salmon and anadromous forms of Pacific trout (Oncorhynchus) within the Puget Sound region. The Puget Sound lies within the native range of the Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus) and two sea-run forms of Pacific trout, the coastal rainbow trout or steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout. Populations of Oncorhynchus have seen significant declines since the middle of the 19th century due to over fishing, habitat loss, pollution and disease. Salmon species residing in or migrating through the Puget Sound to spawning streams include Chum, Coho, Chinook, Sockeye, and Pink salmon. Pacific salmon require freshwater rivers for spawning and most major tributaries of the Puget Sound have salmon, steelhead and cutthroat trout spawning runs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metolius River</span> River

The Metolius River is a tributary of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon, United States. The river flows north from springs near Black Butte, then turns sharply east, descending through a series of gorges before ending in the western end of Lake Billy Chinook. The unincorporated community of Camp Sherman lies astride the southern end of the river. The name of the river comes from the Warm Springs or Sahaptin word mitula, meaning white salmon and referring to a light colored Chinook salmon and not a whitefish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimbus Dam</span> Dam in Sacramento County, California

The Nimbus Dam is a base load hydroelectric dam on the American River near Folsom, California. Approximately 8,700 acre-feet (10,700 dam3) of water is retained by the dam. It is responsible for the impoundment of water from the American River to create the Lake Natoma reservoir. The dam stands 87 feet and spans 1,093 feet. The Nimbus powerplant consists of two generators. Each generator produces enough electrical power to power over 200,000 100-watt light bulbs, about 15,500 kilowatts of electrical power. Nimbus Dam consists of 18 radial gates, each with their own gate bays. These 18 gates today are the ones that were completed in 1955 along with the rest of the dam. Of the eighteen gates, four of them have had their coating system replaced. This protects the gates from a faster rate of corrosion. The other fourteen gates have the original coating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge</span> Natural conservation area in the northeastern United States

Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997 to conserve, protect and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish and wildlife species and the ecosystems on which they depend throughout the 7,200,000-acre (29,000 km2) Connecticut River watershed. The watershed covers large areas of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. It contains a great diversity of habitats, notably: northern forest valuable as nesting habitat for migrant thrushes, warblers and other birds; rivers and streams used by shad, salmon, herring, the endangered shortnose sturgeon and other migratory fishes; and an internationally significant complex of high-quality tidal fresh, brackish and salt marshes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge</span> National Wildlife Refuge and coastal wetlands in Bayfield County, Wisconsin

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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. Established in 1900 or 1902 to produce fish for the American public, the fish hatchery became part of the National Broadstock Program in 1976. In 1995, a freshwater mussel conservation program was added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montana Arctic grayling</span> Subspecies of fish

The Montana Arctic grayling is a North American freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. The Montana Arctic grayling, native to the upper Missouri River basin in Montana and Wyoming, is a disjunct population or subspecies of the more widespread Arctic grayling. It occurs in fluvial and adfluvial, lacustrine forms. The Montana grayling is a species of special concern in Montana and had candidate status for listing under the national Endangered Species Act. It underwent a comprehensive status review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which in 2014 decided not to list it as threatened or endangered. Current surviving native populations in the Big Hole River and Red Rock River drainages represent approximately four percent of the subspecies' historical range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Kern golden trout</span> Subspecies of fish

The Little Kern golden trout is a brightly colored subspecies of rainbow trout native to the main stem and tributaries of the Little Kern River in Tulare County, California. Together with the California golden trout and the Kern River rainbow trout, the Little Kern golden trout forms what is sometimes referred to as the "golden trout complex" of the Kern River basin.

The Nimbus Fish Hatchery is located in eastern Sacramento County, built on the downstream side of the Nimbus Dam. It is one of the 21 fish hatcheries the California Department of Fish and Wildlife oversees. Chinook salmon and steelhead are raised, and about 4 million Chinook salmon and 430,000 steelheads released each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery</span>

The Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery is a fish hatchery administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, located approximately 4 miles west of Yankton, in Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The hatchery is located just below Gavins Point Dam, near the Missouri River.

References

  1. Affairs, USFWS Northeast Region Division of External. "Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service". www.fws.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  2. Affairs, USFWS Northeast Region Division of External. "White River National Fish Hatchery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service". www.fws.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  3. Ring, Wilson (July 9, 2017). "Fish Hatchery in Bethel Is Back After Irene". Valley News. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  4. "Open House Flyer". www.fws.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2018.

43°48′38″N72°39′30″W / 43.81049°N 72.65831°W / 43.81049; -72.65831