Newest edition to lake trout restoration distribution fleet being loaded with yearling fish at Jordan River NFH.

One of the largest expenditures to any fish stocking program, be it state, tribal, or federal, is the cost of distributing the fish at the end of the production cycle.  Rising fuel costs, repairs to multiple distribution vehicles, and labor costs all place burdens on already straining budgets.  In an effort to increase efficiency and reduce costs associated with these challenges, the Midwest Region has been upgrading its fleet of distribution vehicles associated with the Lake Trout Restoration program for the last decade. 

In a concerted effort to save costs the program has been replacing the long time standard distribution unit, which consisted of a 26,000 gross vehicle weight (GVW) gas/diesel truck, with larger 66,000 GVW  diesel powered units. The larger trucks are able to haul three to four times the number of fish of the smaller units, which translates into direct savings to the hatchery in reduced fuel consumption and labor.  The newest and largest of these regional distribution units was recently acquired for the Jordan River National Fish Hatchery (NFH) in northern Michigan.  Jordan River NFH is the largest of the four Midwest Region lake trout production hatcheries in terms of numbers of fish produces and pounds distributed, and was the last of the federal hatcheries to adopt the larger distribution vehicle strategy.  Costs savings the first year in terms of fuel use to the program was well in excess of 4,700 gallons. Labor savings included hundreds of man-hours of on the road time, freeing hatchery personnel to carry out other fish production projects. 

This final addition to the Midwest Regional Lake Trout Restoration Program will pay dividends for years to come and will save the American taxpayer tens of thousands of dollars annually. For further information on these or other programs associated with the Jordan River National Fish Hatchery please contact Roger Gordon, Hatchery Manager at roger_gordon@fws.gov or call the hatchery at 231-584-2461.