Officials from the two agencies will sign the deed for the hatchery during this ceremony, transferring ownership of the facility which was established by an act of Congress in 1908 and constructed in 1909.
Today the hatchery is operated by the Iowa DNR and provides the sole source of largemouth bass in the state, producing 1 million bass and another 600,000 bass fingerlings annually. "Its like saying good-bye to a friend as we sign over ownership of the hatchery," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Directory Bill Hartwig, said, "but I am very pleased in knowing that ownership is going to the very capable hands of our partners in Iowa who have effectively continued the important work of this facility."
The hatchery began operations back in 1910, serving as a fish-cultural experimental station, including research and production of mussels to restore shellfish in the Mississippi River to support the commercial pearl button industry. The main laboratory building for the hatchery was built in 1913, but was destroyed by a fire in 1917, resulting in the nearly total loss of records and materials. A new lab building was constructed and rededicated three years later. Station activities shifted from shellfish to fin fish by the 1930s as the hatchery moved its operations entirely into fish production.
The Service continued to operate the hatchery until June 30, 1973, when the State of Iowa formally took over production. Ownership of the land remained with the Service until the September 27 signing of the transfer deed.
The Fairport Hatchery is an important part of the DNRs hatchery program. In addition to largemouth bass, other species produced include northern pike, walleye, saugeye, bluegill, channel catfish and grass carp (white amur). DNR officials plan to propose a major renovation and rebuilding of the facility for completion by 2002.
The deed signing ceremony will be held at the hatchery located at 3390 Highway 22, Muscatine. For more information, contact Larry Dean, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at (612) 725-3602 or Hatchery Manager Bruce Strunk at (319) 263-5062.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
