Coram fish hatchery to get natural rearing ponds

A state fish hatchery in Coram that raises wild, genetically pure strains of westslope cutthroat trout will see $300,000 in improvements this year.

Plans call for construction of four new rearing ponds, manifolds and piping, wetlands improvements, stream channel development and associated improvements at the Sekokini Springs Fish Hatchery.

Funding for the project will come from $1.8 million provided by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in 2011. About half of that funding will remain after the project is completed, hatchery manager Scott Relyea said.

The Sekokini Springs hatchery operated as a private rainbow trout farm for about 40 years on land leased from the Flathead National Forest. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks acquired the facility in 1998, including a 60-by-40 foot building with concrete raceways, for about $70,000.

FWP owns or operates 10 hatcheries in Montana that produce about 50 million fish every year that are planted in 836 lakes and reservoirs and 23 rivers or streams across the state. All told, FWP annually produces about 45 million warmwater and 8.4 million coldwater fish.

Sekokini Springs’ role for FWP is different from other hatcheries. The goal is to raise juvenile cutthroat trout collected from wild sources, typically in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Flathead River, where cutthroats were protected from hybridization by rainbows or Yellowstone cutthroat trout strains.

Initial improvements at Sekokini Springs included insulating and re-siding the building and protecting the artesian springs by capping them and piping the water supplied to the hatchery.

The goal of the new improvements is to both expand capacity and improve the quality of the fish, Relyea said.

“We’re creating more naturalized rearing and getting away from fish tanks,” he said.

The four new outdoor rearing ponds will be located near a natural wetlands where invertebrates can grow and provide natural food for fish in the outdoor ponds. Solar-powered lights will be used to attract mayflies and other invertebrates to the ponds, Relyea said.

A settling pond located near the hatchery building will be used to hold effluent containing fish waste. The Middle Fork of the Flathead River is about 200 feet away from the hatchery building.

According to FWP engineer and project manager Mark McNearney, construction of the new ponds will start by July 1 and be completed by Oct. 1, before cold weather sets in. Relyea said the new ponds will start rearing fish in spring 2016.