The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today Neosho National Fish Hatchery in southwest Missouri will receive funding through the Fiscal Year 2007 federal budget to complete construction of its new visitor center.
The approximately 5,500-square-foot visitor center is expected to boost annual visitation at the hatchery to more than 100,000 people annually.
“ I applaud and sincerely appreciate the leadership and support shown by Senator Bond, Congressman Blunt and all of our Missouri Congressional members in securing this funding,” said Robyn Thorson, the Service’s Midwest Regional Director. “I am grateful to our partners in Congress, for they share the Fish and Wildlife Service’s dedication to conservation in the Midwest, and they are critical to fulfilling our mission.”
Hatchery manager David E. Hendrix expressed his appreciation as well. “I am so proud of our legislators, our Friends Group, our community and the Fish and Wildlife Service for working together to make this facility a reality,” Hendrix said. “We have a wonderful story to tell here at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery – a rich history, diverse fish cultural activities -- and the new visitor center will be a wonderful vehicle to accomplish that goal.”
The Friends of Neosho National Fish Hatchery have supported the hatchery’s activities and worked to promote the mission of the hatchery.
“ I join with the Fish and Wildlife Service in thanking Congressman Blunt and Senator Bond for their support for the Neosho hatchery,” said Teresa Van Winkle, president of the Friends of Neosho National Fish Hatchery. “This is a crown jewel of our community and its history and we’re grateful for our Congressional champions and the Fish and Wildlife Services commitment to Neosho.
“ The support of the local Neosho officials and the members of the Friends group are a valuable asset to the success of this project,” Van Winkle said.
Established in 1888, Neosho--the oldest operating fish hatchery in the 69-unit National Fish Hatchery System—raises 225,000 rainbow trout each year for mitigation stocking into Lake Taneycomo near Branson, Mo., generating nearly $11 million annually for the local economy, including $5.8 million in retail expenses, 110 jobs, and more than $880,000 in taxes.
The hatchery also raises pallid sturgeon for stocking in the Missouri River as part of recovery efforts for this critically endangered fish. Neosho NFH also works to protect the endangered Ozark cavefish as well as threatened and endangered mussels and other imperiled aquatic species.
“ By contributing to restoration and recovery efforts for some key imperiled fish species such as the pallid sturgeon, paddlefish, and the pink mucket and fat pocketbook mussels, the Neosho National Fish Hatchery plays a key role in fulfilling the Service’s Fisheries mission here in the Midwest,” said Gerry Jackson, Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries. “The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fisheries program has played a role in conserving this nation’s aquatic species and habitat since 1871, and with continued support, we will safeguard our natural resources for years to come.”
The new visitor center will highlight the hatchery’s activities and the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fisheries programs.
“ The hatchery currently sees 40,000 visitors a year, most of them children,” said Hendrix. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to greatly expand our tours, education programs and other activities that bring our nation’s children closer to their natural world.”
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 96-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, 64 fishery resources 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 and Native American tribal 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.
