What’s New?Entiat Hatchery Tours BeginIt’s not too early to schedule an Entiat Hatchery tour for this upcoming spring and summer. Tours are available Monday – Friday between 10 am and 2 pm each day. Scheduling ahead provides hatchery staff time to plan and customize a special tour just for your school, organization, business, or community group. It’s a great way for us to connect you with nature! Tours include a walk in the visitor center and hatchery nursery providing several opportunities to view salmon. Also included, is a beautiful stroll on the scenic Red Willow Trail which follows the Entiat River where you can observe wildlife and enjoy the smell and sounds of nature at its best. Bring a picnic and relax by the hatchery’s Brock Pond. Call 509-784-1131 for more information. Current ProjectsEntiat National Fish Hatchery ReviewSpring Chinook Salmon Phase-Out and Coho Salmon Production Program FeasibilityThe Yakama Nation Mid-Columbia Coho Reintroduction Feasibility ProjectHabitat Improvement ProjectRed Willow TrailPacific LampreyEntiat National Fish Hatchery Review The team completed their review of the Entiat National Fish Hatchery (NFH) program in April 2007. The Hatchery Review Team, comprised of Service and other federal scientists (NOAA & USGS) conducted field tours with hatchery managers and their staffs, reviewed hatchery operations, and met the co-managing agencies and tribes to get a clear understanding of the goals for and status of each wild and hatchery population and their associated habitat and management strategies. Following these field visits, the team put together recommendations for each hatchery which were then documented in the Pacific Region Hatchery Review Team Report. See the Entiat National Fish Hatchery section in the Leavenworth Complex Review Final Report. Both NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency responsible for salmon recovery and the Service’s Hatchery Review team concluded that the Entiat NFH produced spring Chinook salmon which posed an unnecessary risk to the listed spring Chinook stocks. At the same time, this hatchery stock has provided little benefit to sport fishing anglers in the local Entiat River area. To eliminate the risk to listed spring Chinook salmon stocks, the Entiat NFH spring Chinook salmon program has been phased out. Transitioning to a coho program to support coho restoration in the Upper Columbia Basin is being evaluated closely along with other possible alternative programs in a way that minimizes adverse impacts to local stocks. Spring Chinook Salmon Phase-Out and Coho Salmon Production Program Feasibility A Myxobolus parasite was first documented in juvenile spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha; SCS) raised in Entiat River water around 1986 at ENFH. The parasite caused considerable damage to the spinal cord and brainstem of infected juvenile SCS resulting in increased mortality and reduced fitness for survival outside of hatchery environs. The condition known as tail rot was the first visual sign, aside from high mortality, of infected fish. Other signs included emaciation and spinal deformities. To learn more about this study, please call the Entiat Hatchery Manager at 509-784-1131.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proactively initiated a series of 
Currently, the Entiat hatchery is rearing a 250K coho program. Following the 2007 Hatchery Review, the Review Team recommended replacement of the spring Chinook salmon. This program is in a “test” or feasibility phase. The purpose of the test phase is; 1) to test the suitability of surface water (Entiat River) in rearing coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) at Entiat National Fish Hatchery (ENFH); 2) to determine the extent and time of greatest infection of juvenile coho salmon to the Myxobolus parasite present in the Entiat River. 
