The Lower Snake River Compensation Plan is a cooperative hatchery program to return salmon and steelhead to the Snake River Basin.

Latest News

Children fishing at a reservoir on a summer day
Recreation
Fun in the Sun: Dworshak Explorers Summer Camp
A first of it's kind youth summer camp builds partnerships through the love of science and the outdoors in Orofino, ID.
An aerial view of a river with a structure spanning across it. People are in the river with nets, rounding up fish.
Habitat Restoration
Salmon River Restoration for Chinook and Sockeye Recovery Efforts
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lower Snake River Compensation Plan program will implement an in-river project immediately downstream of the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery in the summer of 2024 that benefits both Chinook and sockeye salmon in the Upper Salmon River.
A photo collage of three drawings of salmon with the text "Salmon for the future, Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Office K-12 Artwork Contest!
Get Involved
K-12 Art Contest!
The Lower Snake River Compensation Plan annually releases 20 million salmon and steelhead smolts into the Lower Snake River for salmon for the future. Many of these young fish are transported in large semi-truck transportation tanks. The time has come to update the logos of these trucks and we need...
Two side by side photos of a girl wearing a blue life vest, smiling and holding a fish. In one photo, she appears to be about to eat or kiss the fish. She stands in a raft in water.
Our People
Cast to Table: Southwest Catfish Fajitas
Nate Wiese shares a story of his catfishing origins in Wisconsin, to catching, cleaning and cooking a freshly-caught family meal in Idaho.
Trout fish, with pinkish color, rests on ice.
Our People
A Family Tradition
Nathan Wiese takes us on a journey in wintery Idaho from ice fishing with his two daughters, to the home smoker, and the family dinner table.
View All News

About Us

Our office administers U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service funding for the Program's hatchery operations, their maintenance, hatchery program evaluations. We direct and work with the Program's federal, state, and tribal partners to meet the Plan's hatchery program mitigation goals, and ensure all activities are conducted in a safe environment and comply with federal regulations and tribal trust responsibilities.

What We Do

Lower Snake River Compensation Plan federal, tribal, and state hatcheries produce and release salmon, steelhead, and resident rainbow trout as part of the program's mitigation responsibility. The Program's mitigation goals include returning 55,100 adult steelhead, 58,700 adult spring/summer Chinook salmon, and 18,300 fall Chinook salmon to the Snake River. To mitigate lost angler days for resident species, our hatcheries stock about 86,000 pounds of rainbow trout into inland lakes and ponds close to the project area.

Our ten hatcheries are operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Oregon Department, of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Together they annually raise and release over 16.8 million salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout.

In addition, a network of 14 satellite facilities in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington associated with the program's hatcheries provide opportunities for acclimating our hatcheries' juvenile salmon, steelhead trout, and rainbow trout prior to their release, and help staff trap returning adult salmon and steelhead for spawning.

Projects and Research

  • Fish Production
  • Fish Health Management
  • Monitoring and Evaluation Studies
  • Hatchery Review

Location and Contact Information