Willard National Fish Hatchery

Project Title: Repair Shop Building for Seismic Requirements (FFS #R1QC)

State: Washington

Project Description: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has overseen the completion of a facility improvement project at the Willard National Fish Hatchery as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project was funded using $107,011 in stimulus dollars.

Following an earthquake preparedness evaluation, the Willard NFH hatchery shop building was found to have significant structural deficiencies, including weakness and the cracking of structural, load-bearing masonry. Spokane, Washington-based Burton Construction performed a series of repairs and modifications to bring the building in line with seismic safety standards.

“This seismic rehabilitation is a worker safety issue critical to the well- being of our employees in an earthquake event,” Wingert said. “Most of the work was done within the structure with the exception of the steel supports and some masonry work.”

The Willard National Fish Hatchery (NFH) is located five miles north of Highway 14 along the Little White Salmon River. The Hatchery is part of the Little White Salmon/Willard National Fish Hatchery complex with administrative offices located at the Little White Salmon Hatchery. It was built in 1952 and is used for raising coho salmon and Spring chinook salmon.

“This upgrade is in support of our mission to provide coho salmon and spring Chinook salmon and assist with our tribal commitment to the Yakima Indian Nation,” Wingert said.

Willard NFH is an integral component of the Yakama Nation Mid-Columbia coho salmon reintroduction effort aimed at reestablishing self sustaining populations of coho salmon in the Wenatchee River Basin of north central Washington.

A total of 650,000 coho salmon are reared at Willard NFH and transferred to the Wenatchee River watershed for acclimation and release by biologists from the Yakama Indian Nation. A total of 400,000 spring Chinook are reared at the Hatchery and released into the Little While Salmon River and Drano Lake. They provide sport and tribal fishery harvest opportunity by mitigating for fisheries lost due to the construction and operation of large scale hydropower projects on the Columbia River.

For more information, check out the Columbia River Gorge National Fish Hatcheries Fact Sheet.

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