Welcome
61552 State Route
14
Underwood, WA 98651
509-493-1730
Hatchery Manager - Larry Marchant
Directions
Spring Creek hatchery is located 4 miles west of the Hood River/White
Salmon toll bridge on State Highway 14. Visitors are welcome
weekdays from 7:30 am - 4:00 pm. The hatchery is also open on
weekends in late August, September and early October, and from
December through mid-May. Adult Tule Fall Chinook salmon return
in September and visitors can watch the fish being spawned in
mid- to late September.
Hatchery
History
Established in 1901, Spring Creek hatchery was one of several egg
collection stations for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Clackamas
Hatchery, near Portland. As the human population of the Columbia
Gorge increased, heavy fishing pressure and destruction of habitat
resulted in the U.S. government establishing a fish hatchery at
this site.
The original hatchery
was flooded when the Bonneville Dam was completed in 1938. After several
modifications, the hatchery was redesigned and rebuilt by the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers in 1972. Expansion was undertaken to partially
compensate for the loss of Fall Chinook spawning grounds due to dam
construction along the Columbia River. The hatchery is funded by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mitchell Act, which is administered
by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Today the hatchery raises more than 15 million Tule Fall Chinook
salmon annually. The hatchery uses water from several springs located
at the base of the adjacent basalt cliffs, recycling the water through
a unique, oyster shell filtration system to conserve water and reduce
pollution. Ninety percent of the water used in the hatchery's rearing
ponds is recycled.
