Willard National Fish Hatchery Releases Nearly 1 Million Young Coho

The Willard National Fish Hatchery near Cook, Washington, will release 974,000 coho salmon yearlings into the Little White Salmon River on Tuesday, January 13, 2004, at 9 am. These fish are being released three months prior to their planned April release schedule due to a significant decrease in the mitigation hatchery budget.

Willard NFH is one of six U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hatcheries that receive funding under the Mitchell Act, a promise made in 1938 by Congress to mitigate for fish losses attributed to Federal dams. Administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration