2015 was the 75th anniversary of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery! The hatchery was authorized in 1937 and built from 1939-1940. It was at that time the largest salmon hatchery in the world! We currently raise 1.2 million juvenile spring Chinook salmon every year, releasing them into Icicle Creek.
In 1998, the hatchery was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Visitors today can see the nursery, adult holding ponds, fish ladder, raceways, rearing ponds, and other features of an active hatchery, still operating from the original buildings.
Come take a walk through time and explore the ambitious past, the busy present, and the hopeful future of our relationship with salmon in Washington State!
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