Neosho National Fish Hatchery facts for kids
The Neosho National Fish Hatchery is a special place where fish are raised to help nature. It's the oldest fish hatchery run by the US Fish and Wildlife Service! It started way back in 1888 and is one of 69 such hatcheries across the United States.
History of the Hatchery
The town of Neosho, Missouri was picked for the hatchery. It's in the beautiful Ozark Mountains of southwest Missouri. It was a great spot because it had fresh spring water and was close to a railroad.
The land for the hatchery was bought in 1888. The first water came from Hearrell Spring, providing 300 gallons of water every minute! By 1890, the hatchery was already raising seven different kinds of fish. In 1907, McMahon Spring was added, boosting the water supply to 1,000 gallons per minute.
In 1961, the hatchery got a big upgrade. An old building from 1890 was replaced with a new, modern one. They also built 12 concrete raceways for raising fish. More land was added, bringing in water from Elm and Bartholic Springs. This gave the hatchery an extra 500 gallons of water per minute.
Why Fish Hatcheries are Important
The US Fish and Wildlife Service runs fish hatcheries all over the United States. These hatcheries are super important for protecting and bringing back fish. They raise rare, endangered, and other fish. Then, they release them back into America’s lakes and rivers.
Some hatcheries also help make up for fish lost because of large dams. These dams were built many years ago and can affect fish populations.
The Neosho National Fish Hatchery has produced over 130 types of fish. These include cold, cool, and warm water species. Today, they focus on a few key projects.
What Neosho Hatchery Does Now
The hatchery works on several important projects:
- Bringing Back Fish: They help restore paddlefish and lake sturgeon populations.
- Saving Endangered Species: They work to help the endangered pallid sturgeon recover.
- Protecting Cavefish: Staff protect the endangered Ozark cavefish. These special fish live in one of the springs that supplies the hatchery with water.
- Helping Mussels: They also work to restore native mussels that are threatened or endangered.
- Raising Rainbow Trout: They raise rainbow trout for Lake Taneycomo in Missouri. This helps keep fishing good in the lake.
- Education: The hatchery offers tours and presentations. This helps teach people about fish conservation.
The hatchery gets its water from four underground springs. These springs are up to four miles (6 km) away. They provide 1,500 gallons of clean, cool water every minute. This allows the staff to raise up to 90,000 pounds of fish each year. It also helps them care for many rare aquatic species.
Neosho National Fish Hatchery at U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website
