Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

           Electronic News Service

******************************************

Date: Wednesday, February 7, 1996


Hatcheries Facing Massive Flows
-------------------------------
One Million Coho Released Early in
Alsea, Trout Brood Threatened
-------------------------------

	One million small coho salmon faced certain death due to
high river flows at Fall Creek Hatchery near Alsea Wednesday,
February 7, forcing a weary crew of hatchery workers to
release them three months ahead of schedule directly into the
raging river.
	"This current flooding is the worst we've ever seen at
some of our hatcheries," said Rich Berry, fish propagation
director for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "We
have three hatcheries facing imminent danger of losing water
supplies. When that happens, we have no choice but to release
the fish or they will die."
	Crews at Alsea Hatchery near Alsea, and Roaring River
hatchery, near Scio, have worked almost 24-hours a day since
Monday to keep water intakes open. Roaring River hatchery
holds 3,000 brood stock which supplies rainbow trout eggs for
much of Oregon's trout program. Hatchery managers are
scrambling to save these fish, plus another 220,000 legal-
sized rainbow and 480,000 rainbow fingerlings. Alsea Hatchery
rears trout and 186,000 summer steelhead for the Alsea River
system and other coastal waterways.
	"We've got our eye on other hatcheries which are in
danger," said Berry. "Cedar Creek, Trask, Clackamas, Cascade,
Leaburg and Salmon River hatcheries are all getting hit with
heavy flows, silt, log jams and erosion."
	The major problem for hatcheries now is, ironically,
keeping water flowing into the hatchery. "There are large
grates where the water flows into the hatchery system, but
large amounts of debris can clog these up, cutting off water
flows. Also, heavy siltation can fill the ponds, crowding out
or suffocating the fish," said Berry. "We had two-and-a-half
feet of silt enter a pond at Fall Creek, which is what forced
us to release the fish. Our hatchery manager there said flows
are worse than the 1964 flood."
	Berry said personnel from other regions of the state
will be brought in to assist and relieve tired hatchery
staffs. "They've literally been out there in torrential rains
24 hours a day cleaning screens and fighting the storm to
keep fish alive. This is a critical time for some of these
hatcheries," said Berry.
	This series of storms is a kind of one-two punch for
northwest Oregon, said Berry. "Storms in November and
December hit spawning chinook pretty hard, and now it's
hitting spawning coho and winter steelhead. It's been a rough
winter for everyone."
###