2005 Education & Outreach Newsletter

Mad River Hatchery Makes a Memorable Reopening

Written by Lindsay Manzo, WSP AmeriCorps Member and Fortuna DFG

These days, it's pretty crucial for the success of a state hatchery to have the support of its residents and local groups. After its unpopular close last year, Humboldt’s Mad River Hatchery received a flood of support from its surrounding communities. Due to appropriate financial contributions and publicity, the hatchery reopened this last winter run. One of the most recent groups to support the hatchery is the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards.

This past January, in honor of the reopening, California Department of Fish and Game and the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards teamed up to provide free hatchery tours to local residents and students. Four tours were given between January and March with over 700 students and locals in attendance. Education tours were set up by Chris Ramsey, a Fish and Wildlife Interpreter for the Department of Fish and Game, and led by local Watershed Stewards. The volunteers who operate the facility, otherwise known as the Friends of the Mad River Hatchery, were able to adjust spawning dates to coincide with the public visits.

The tours were interactive and memorable for participants. Each group was able to explore the facility with a docent, watch the hatchery’s winter steelhead run the fish ladder, and view hatchery spawning procedures. It was an especially great experience for local teachers and students starting their learning units about salmonids.

A partnership between the Department of Fish and Game and the Friends of the Mad River Hatchery supports Eel River Restoration Project’s ‘Salmon in the Classroom.’ The project is funded by the Fisheries Restoration Grants Program. In this project, participating classes incubate fertilized eggs donated from a local hatchery to the fry stage. During this time, the children are encouraged to study salmonid life cycles and observe the development of their tiny guests until they are released back to their native environments. For the incubated steelhead that originated at the Mad River Hatchery there will be a large ‘educational release fair’ put on by DFG and the Eel River Restoration Project.