Laserfiche WebLink
<br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />....J,.. <br /> <br />Hatchery/2 <br /> <br />The proposed hatchery would raise endangered fish for stocking stretches <br /> <br />of river where fish populations have severely dwindled, establishing adult <br />"brood" stock, holding fish in protected areas off the river and conducting <br /> <br />research on recovery. Designs for the facility also will include a visitors' <br /> <br />area with information on the fish. <br /> <br />The advisory committee and URS Consultants will first narrow the list of <br /> <br />31 sites to about 10 and then to three by late summer or early fall. Criteria <br /> <br />to be used in screening the sites include water availability, quality and <br /> <br />temperature; proximity to endangered fish habitat; land availability; site <br /> <br />accessibility; construction requirements; and cost. <br /> <br />By March 1992, URS will develop preliminary designs for the three sites <br /> <br />and will estimate their construction and operation costs. <br /> <br />The final decision on whether and where to build a hatchery will rest with <br /> <br />Water Conservation Board and Recovery Program administrators. Questions yet to <br />be answered include how the hatchery would be funded, whether hatchery fish <br />can survive and reproduce in the wild and whether there are genetic <br />differences between fish from different rivers. <br /> <br />"Hatcheries are an important tool in the recovery program, and we <br /> <br />recognize the need for some type of facility," said John Hamill, director of <br />the Recovery Program. "But there is no commitment to build anything yet." <br /> <br />A written agreement to establish the Recovery Program was signed in 1988 <br />by the governors of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming; secretary of the U.S. <br /> <br />Department of the Interior; and administrator of the Western Area Power <br /> <br />Administration. Stocking of native fish is one of five elements of the <br /> <br />Recovery Program; others are habitat management and in-stream flows; habitat <br /> <br />development; non-native species and sport-fishing; and research, monitoring <br /> <br />and data management. <br /> <br />-- more -- <br />