Spring Creek
Underwood, WA 98651-9000
Plan Your Visit
The best time to visit the hatchery is late-August through September when the adult salmon are returning. The salmon enter the hatchery by climbing up the fish ladder. Fish ladders are more like a staircase than a ladder, allowing a resting space between “rungs” for salmon making this journey. We open our fish ladder each year in late August.
Spawning takes place September 15-30. Each day fish are crowded into our Spawning Building for processing. Eggs are removed from the females and fertilized with milt from the males. Fertilized eggs are transferred to our Incubation Building where they spend the next several months, out of public viewing. In January, the salmon fry are put in our outdoor raceways, where once again you can see them while visiting the hatchery. The fry are fed multiple times a day.
A visit in March and April will provide a look inside Fish Marking Trailers. You can see several large white trailers around the hatchery that are working to mark the salmon fry in various ways. We adipose clip all of our fish, which distinguishes them as hatchery fish. A small percentage of our salmon receive a Coded Wire Tag, which is a small wire tag that is inserted into the snout of the fish. These tags tell us where our salmon go in the ocean and who is catching them. The last way we mark fish is a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag. This is a small micro-chip that is inserted into the body cavity of the fish. These tags are used for special studies and also help to tell us how many of our fish have returned over the dams.
We release our fish each spring in April directly into the Columbia River. We have no fish on station during the summer months, but our hatchery provides a beautiful walk along the river, and colorful wind surfing sails abound during these months.
Spring Creek is located about 65 miles east of Portland, OR. You can reach the hatchery by traveling east on I-84 about 64 miles to Hood River, OR. Take exit 64 and cross the Hood River/White Salmon toll bridge ($2.00 toll each way). Turn left onto State Highway 14 and travel about 3 miles. You will cross over the White Salmon River. The hatchery will be on your left at about mile marker 61.
Activities
Featured Species
Get Involved
Discover for yourself what tens of thousands of volunteers have learned: Volunteering for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fun and rewarding in many ways. Master new skills. Meet new friends. Enjoy a sense of accomplishment from doing your part to further wildlife conservation for the pleasure of generations to follow.
We enjoy having volunteers at our hatchery! We offer both daily and long-term opportunities. The hatcheries provide local individuals the opportunity to volunteer by assisting hatchery staff with special events such as our Annual Open House or Kid's Fishing Day, fish production, and light maintenance activities. All volunteers compliment our hatchery programs and offer valuable support. To volunteer, contact jennifer_rowlen@fws.gov, or call Jennifer at (509) 493-1730.
Services
The hatchery functions as a mitigation facility to compensate for habitat losses associated with hydro-electric projects on the Columbia River. It raises and releases approximately 12.5 million Tule Fall Chinook salmon annually to support commercial, tribal, and recreational fisheries. The facility also fulfills tribal trust responsibilities and provides educational outreach, such as the Salmon in the Classroom program.
About
Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery was established in 1901 to mitigate habitat loss from hydroelectric projects and fulfill tribal trust responsibilities. Raising 12.5 million Tule Fall Chinook salmon annually, the facility makes significant contributions to commercial, tribal, and sport fisheries. The hatchery is a mechanically complex water conservation facility that uses biological filters to reuse water from local springs while enhancing water quality.
Spring Creek is part of the Columbia River Gorge National Fish Hatchery Complex.