Leaburg Fish Hatchery in need of roughly $1 million to avoid closure
LEABURG, Ore. - Operations at the Leaburg Fish Hatchery are set to close by the end of June if it doesn't get funding from the state.
The hatchery has been around for 66 years.
Now most of the fish tanks are empty or drawn down.
The hatchery produces thousands of pounds of Rainbow Trout and Spring Chinook Salmon each year.
It has the ability to take in at-risk fish from around the state, as happened when the Eagle Creek Fire threatened fish at a hatchery in the Columbia River Gorge.
The hatchery also brings tourism to Leaburg.
“That and fulfilling the responsibilities for the other hatcheries when it gets too hot or the drought affects their rivers, it just makes sense to keep it and if it closes it's done,” said Sean Davis.
To keep running, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says it needs roughly $1 million from this legislative session.
State Representative Cedric Hayden, a supporter of keeping the hatchery, says he's made an amendment to a house bill to get the funding.
There have been public hearings, but no work session is scheduled for the bill yet. Rep. Hayden says a vote on the bill should happen in the near future.
