The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invites the public to attend an open house at the Iron River National Fish Hatchery on Saturday, August 13, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Hatchery staff will provide guided tours of the hatchery facility, show brook and lake trout they are raising, and answer questions about the Service’s Fisheries Program. Information booths will be set up to display information from other Fish and Wildlife Service offices and agency partners. Participants will also be invited to a formal ceremony to dedicate the new buildings at 2 p.m.
The Iron River National Fish Hatchery was originally built in 1979 with the first fish stocked out in 1983. To protect the fish from predation and sun damage, two air-filled domes were installed over the raceways in 1991 and 1992. Due to heavy snow loads, these domes collapsed 6 times over the next several years. Safety concerns for people and equipment led to the replacement of the domes with the metal buildings. Construction of the buildings began in May of 2004 and was completed in November 2004. These new buildings have survived their first Northland winter without incident and the fish are actually happier in the darker buildings!
For further information on the open house, call 715-372-8510, or e-mail Laurie Gucinski at Laurie_Gucinski@fws.gov . The Iron River Hatchery is located about 7 miles north of Iron River. Follow County A north of U.S. 2 to Fairview Road, where you will see directional signs.
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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 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 Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
