Jones
Hole National Fish Hatchery is located 40 miles from Vernal, Uintah
County, Utah, near the Colorado border. It is operated by the U.
S. Fish & Wildlife Service. [Click here to link to their website for more information
and the hatchery phone number.]
Jones Hole Hatchery raises mainly rainbow trout. These are stocked in
Flaming Gorge Reservoir and other Colorado River Storage Project water.
The hatchery also currently supplies fish for the Ute Tribe sportfishing
resource. Existing rearing capacity of the hatchery is 175,000 pounds of
fish annually. It is estimated that with adequate flow this may be increased
to 263,000 pounds.
Under the Fish Hatchery Production Plan,
rehabilitation of Jones Hole Hatchery is planned to increase hatchery rearing
space. The amount of increase is dependent on increased flow that may be
realized there.
Final estimated cost of rehabilitation is approximately $1.7 million.
The Mitigation Commission is responsible for about $1.3 million of the
cost.
Flow monitoring is planned for the Jones Hole Hatchery and modifications have
been made to a water supply system. When the amount of increased flow is
determined, a proposed action will be drawn
up
and
environmental analysis completed.
The Central Utah Project and other reclamation projects created many
reservoirs in Utah. These flatwater areas provide for a variety of water-related
recreation opportunities including fishing. Most reservoir fisheries are
heavily used and not able to sustain themselves through natural recruitment,
requiring management programs dependent on stocking hatchery-reared fish.
Fish stocking demands in Utah for reclamation projects have been met in
the past through both State and Federal hatcheries. CUPCA identifies funding
for planning and implementing improvements to existing hatcheries and/or
the development of new fish hatcheries to increase production of warm-water
and cold-water fish for areas affected by the Colorado River Storage Project
in Utah. |