Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery

61552 State Route 14
Underwood, WA 98651
509-493-1730
Hatchery Manager - Larry Marchant

Directions
Spring Creek hatchery is located four miles west of the White Salmon/Hood River toll bridge on State Route 14. Visitors are welcome weekdays 7:30 am - 4:00 pm. The hatchery is also open on weekends from December through mid-May. Adult tule fall Chinook salmon return in September and visitors can watch them being spawned in mid to late September.

Hatchery History
Established in 1901, Spring Creek hatchery was one of several egg collecting stations for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Clackamas Hatchery, near Portland. As the human popluation 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 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 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 water filtration system to conserve water and reduce pollution. Ninety percent of the water used in the hatchery's rearing ponds is recycled.