Welcome to Greers Ferry NFH
Greers Ferry NFH welcome sign. Credit: USFWS
Station Facts
- Established: 1965.
- Number of staff: four permanent.
- Arkansas: White River Basin.
- Oklahoma: Blue and Illinois rivers.
- Annual budget (FY 06) $415,530.
- Annual economic impact of trout production at Greers Ferry NFH $45.7 million.
- Provide statutory mitigation fish (rainbow trout and brook trout) for Arkansas.
- Cooperatively participates in aquatic threatened/endangered or "species of concern" research.
- Provide statutory mitigation fish (rainbow trout) for Oklahoma.
- Provide environmental education and outreach.
Fish Species and Capability
- Rainbow trout (mandated mitigation) 1,255,300 fish -- 217,000 lbs.
- Brook trout (mandated mitigation) 40,000 -- 4000 lbs.
- More than 50,000 visitors annually.
- Trout fishing in the Little Red River adjacent to hatchery grounds.
- Visitor center with aquarium.
- Hatchery tours for school groups.
- Self Guided Hatchery Tours
- Off-site presentations.
Fisheries logo. Credit: USFWS
Visiting Hours: 7:00am to 3:00pm daily, closed Christmas day. Visitors should arrive at least 30 minutes before closing time to allow enough time to tour.
Directions to Hatchery: The hatchery is located below Greers Ferry Dam on Highway 5/25 North, three miles north of Heber Springs.
Calendar of Events
June: Children’s Fishing Derby.
September: Greers Ferry Lake & Little Red River Cleanup.
Questions and Answers
Do you have any fish for breeding? Where do you get the fish?
Greers Ferry does not have any adult trout for breeding purposes. The hatchery receives fertilized eggs from other Federal hatcheries, called broodstock hatcheries, which provide eggs to several hatcheries such as Greers Ferry. Currently we receive eggs from Erwin NFH in Tennessee, White Sulphur Springs NFH in West Virginia, and Ennis NFH in Montana.
Where are the fish stocked? How often?
The trout are stocked in public fishing waters in Arkansas and Oklahoma which are suitable for trout. Trout are stocked year-round. In the summer the Little Red River adjacent to the hatchery is stocked with more than 150,000 nine inch and twelve inch trout.
Will trout live in a small pond?
Trout require cold water, usually less than 65° F, with lots of dissolved oxygen. In the Southeast, farm ponds get too warm for trout in the summer months. That is one reason most of the fish are stocked in cold tail-waters below large dams.
Is the hatchery open every day? What hours? It there a charge?
The hatchery is open every day except Christmas. The visiting hours are 7:00 am-3:00 pm. There is no charge to visit the hatchery.
