Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (4863857874)

Dworshak National Fish Hatchery is a mitigation hatchery located on the Clearwater River within the Nez Perce Reservation near Ahsahka, in north-central

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

, United States. It was constructed in 1969 by the Army Corps of Engineers, and is co-managed by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

and the

Nez Perce Tribe The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

. The hatchery is one of the largest combination producers of

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

(migratory) fish in the world. These fish make a 1000-mile round trip to the ocean and back to spawn in the Clearwater River. The

Dworshak Dam Dworshak Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the western United States, on the North Fork of the Clearwater River in north central Idaho. In Clearwater County, the dam is located approximately northwest of Orofino and impounds the Dwors ...

blocks access to the historical spawning areas on the North Fork-Clearwater River for the steelhead, and it is too high for a

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

Steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...

, chinook and

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientif ...

are spawned and reared at the facility. The hatchery attempts to mitigate or make up for some of the lost spawning area by collecting mature adult fish, fertilizing their eggs, and raising them for 1–1½ years, until they are large enough to begin their 500-mile journey to the Pacific Ocean. The young fish must survive a variety of hazards in the long journey, including swimming past eight dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. During the summer months the dams increase their water releases to aid fish migration downstream. The Dworshak hatchery is unique because of its ability to control the water temperature in the steelhead rearing ponds. By keeping the temperature at 54 degrees Fahrenheit, the juvenile steelheads are able to be released after one year at a length of 8 inches. In cold water, it would take an additional year to grow those same 8 inches. The hatchery accomplishes this through the recirculation of up to 90 percent of its water. The hatchery is part of Dworshak Fisheries Complex, which also includes Kooskia National Fish Hatchery, the Idaho Fish Health Center, and the Idaho Fisheries Resource Office. Dworshak National Fish Hatchery is open to visitors during daylight hours. The facility has a self-guided tour route and offers pre-arranged guided tours. The hatchery is located approximately three miles west of Orofino, ID on Highway 7. The best fish viewing seasons are: February - April for adult steelhead, June - August for adult chinook, and October - December for coho and steelhead. Dworshak Dam and Hatchery were named after Henry Dworshak, a Republican Senator from Idaho during 1946–1962.

References

External links

Dworshak Fisheries ComplexNez Perce Reservation Transit scheduleNez Perce Department of Fishery Resource Management
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