Youth Gain Valuable Experience Working at a Fish Hatchery

Jul 25, 2022

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Summer jobs can provide much needed experience, life lessons and income for youth. At Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, we were fortunate to have several youth workers join us for the 2022 summer season.

The United States Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is a summer youth employment program that engages young people in meaningful work experiences at national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and fish hatcheries while developing an ethic of environmental stewardship and civic responsibility. Through this program we were able to hire Brady Bell, Lakota Lemmon, and Charles Young.

two youth workers — YCC 2022 Summer hires at Wolf Creek NFH

The LCADD (Lake Cumberland Area Development District) also employs youth through their Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Work Experience program in the Lake Cumberland area. Katie Owens and Paisley West were able to work at the hatchery this summer through funding provided by the LCADD program.

Youth worker at Wolf Creek NFH — Paisley West joins Wolf Creek NFH for the summer of 2022.

Kristen Butler joined us as an intern from Berea College. Kristen will be a senior next year, majoring in agriculture and natural resources, with career interests in wildlife management, habitat restoration, greenhouse agriculture, and environmental education. She completed her internship here at Wolf Creek as part of a requirement for her degree.

Two summer workers processing trout eggs — Processing eggs at Wolf Creek NFH.

These youth workers all gained valuable experience, learned life lessons, and earned money while working here at Wolf Creek. Work in fish production, fish stocking, threatened and endangered species, environmental education, and grounds maintenance made for a variety of work experiences. They also participated in our Catch A Rainbow Kids Fishing Derby, where 800 kids and many adults enjoyed a day of fishing and fun. This experience was not all work and no play however, as they took a tour of Wolf Creek Dam, a trip to Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery, and enjoyed a pizza party.

We appreciate all our summer youth workers, and hope that they leave here with not only life skills, but an appreciation for the mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and connections that will help them when pursuing future endeavors.