Elochoman hatchery to close

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife intends to close the Elochoman Hatchery this September.

A department spokesman told visitors at a meeting last week in Grays River that the closure is part of a hatchery reform program.

The department has said the hatchery, which raises steelhead and chinook and silver salmon, doesn't meet the goals and objectives of the federal salmon recovery plan administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They have said the hatchery would be too expensive to upgrade.

However, the department may reopen the Beaver Creek Hatchery for six months of the year to carry on some hatchery programs.

The department also announced plans to trap hatchery salmon in the Grays River. For a report on the meeting, see Downriver Dispatches on Page 7.