Leaks in the system
Nation's fish hatcheries growing old ... and it shows
Programs to assist fish, fishermen and fisheries have been around since 1871, and in the case of America's 70 national fish hatcheries, that age is beginning to show.
Increasing demands have been placed on aquatic systems in recent years and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been hard-pressed at times to keep up with these needs while still working with aging — and in some cases, antiquated — resources to support healthy fisheries.
Williams Creek was established in 1939 (Alchesay shortly thereafter) to raise several species of trout. It was been business as usual since, until the half-century-old, 4,000-foot-long pipeline that supplies hatchery water from the White River began to literally break apart.
"We've been fighting on-going deterioration of almost every corroded seam for some time now, but it's no longer repairable and contractors are expressing surprise the whole quarter-inch thick pipeline hasn't burst and failed," said Mike Oetker, assistant regional director of fisheries for the Southwest Regional FWS office in Albuquerque.
The pipe, buried six feet deep and running (twice) under the White River itself, ordinarily supplies up to 9,000 gallons of water a minute to support annual production of 1.2 million fish (the largest Indian trust recreational fishing program in the national system). Present flows have dropped to an estimated 4,000 gallons and dangerously close to a level that would result in a fish kill.
"We're talking half a million catchable trout here, so it's a touch-and-go situation," said hatchery project leader Phil Hines, who has been shipping out fingerlings as fast as transport trucks arrive. "We're currently losing 47 percent of the water that enters our leaking pipeline, and if hatchery operations have to be completely suspended due to further erosion, there probably won't be anything left to stock this fall."
While options are discussed, temporary — and costly — large emergency water pumps have been staged in the event of a complete system failure.
"We need to replace the entire line — now — all at once," Oetker said, "but the unexpected emergency begs the question of where you come up with an estimated $3.5 million for repair costs.
"We'll try to nurse things along on a day-to-day basis while the search for funding goes on. Our plan is to keep the fish alive, get them off station as quickly as possible, use the emergency pumps if we have to, and consider shutting down the facility only as a last resort. We're committed to the tribes and the partners and the anglers — we're doing our best to fix this."
The amalgam of tribes that partner with FWS on the complex are gathering to see if they can be of any assistance. "While Fish and Wildlife Service has the trust responsibility to keep the facility running, we're trying to see where we might be able to help," said fisheries biologist Tim Gatewood, who is in the WMAT Wildlife & Outdoor Recreation Division (whose employees are funded through license sales to fish for the trout raised in the hatcheries). "We're coordinating schedules to meet with the tribes that receive these fish to see if they can come up with some funding, because if the pipeline breaks completely and the hatchery goes out of production, it won't just affect us in this region, but will represent a large impact on other tribal fishery programs as well."
Additionally, 15 tribes from Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, collectively banded together as the Southwest Tribal Fisheries Council, are also meeting to see what assistance they can provide. "We've already offered to assist the Apache tribe and Fish and Wildlife Service in any way we can," said Mike Montoya, STFC Executive Director. "In November, 2008, we signed a statement of mutual benefit, to enhance and sustain the tribal fishery program ... including technical assistance such as fish stocking or offering hatchery space at our Mescalero facility as a temporary refuge in the event of a catastrophic event.
The 24-inch diameter steel pipeline in question had a small section rupture two years ago, a break that was repairable at a cost of $427,000. But while patch jobs and section-by-section fixes used to work, they are no longer an option.
"The ideal situation is to be able to continue current hatchery operations until project funding is found. In the interim, we plan to hire an architect and engineering firm to lay out a path for a new pipeline so that we can immediately start to dig a new trench when dollars become available," Oetker said.
The two-station hatchery complex on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation is known for its leading role in the recovery of the threatened Apache trout, as well as annually raising rainbow, brook, brown, and cutthroat trout for stocking Indian waters in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
"Trout raised here fuel an economic engine for 19 tribes in Arizona and New Mexico," says Craig Springer, editor of the FWS fisheries magazine, Eddies.
In a trickle-down scenario, complete disruption of the hatchery would heavily impact already restricted tribal economies. For every million operational dollars put into the site, $19 million is generated for the White Mountain tribal community.
Every fish cultured and stocked by the two hatcheries last year went into tribal waters.
"The program assists tribes in developing public recreational fishing programs with economic benefits channeled into natural resource initiatives that support imperiled species programs, non-game management efforts, and conservation/watershed restoration programs.
"Worse-case scenario is that no immediate repair project monies can be allocated and not enough pulled from other budgets, the current pipeline goes totally out of service, and we have to shut down," Oetker said. " We can look at other states or within the hatchery system, but we probably won't be able to meet our usual commitment to supply sportfish for licensed anglers as a result."
