Federal hydropower projects, as well as private power utility systems, have a devastating impact upon anadromous fish resources that once flourished in the Columbia River and its tributaries.  Several areas have been blocked to anadromous fish by dams, destroying the primary food resource (salmon) for many native people.  To replace these lost resources, many native people now rely heavily upon resident fish.  The Colville Tribal Fish Hatchery (CTH) is an artificial production program that addresses the loss of anadromous fish resources in the Upper Columbia Sub-Region within the "blocked area" created by the construction of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams.  This artificial production program is part of the Northwest Power and Conservation Councils resident fish substitution policy identified in their Fish and Wildlife Program. This project enhances resident fisheries located within the Colville Reservation portion of the Upper Columbia, Sanpoil and Okanogan Sub-Basins.  The project particularly mitigates for anadromous fish losses through protection/augmentation of resident fish populations to enhance fishery potential (i.e., in-place, out-of-kind mitigation).  CTH is located on the northern bank of the Columbia River just downstream of Bridgeport, Washington on land owned by the Colville Tribes.  The minimum production quota for CTH is 22,679 kg (50,000 lbs.) of trout annually.

All fish produced are released into Reservation waters, including boundary waters, in an effort to provide a successful subsistence/recreational fishery for Colville Tribal members and provide for a successful non-member recreational sport fishery.
The main goal of CTH is to provide artificial enhancement of Reservation fisheries for both tribal subsistence fisheries and non-member sport fisheries while minimally impacting natural populations.  When possible, "put-grow-take" and "carry-over" fisheries rather than "put-take" fisheries have been used to accomplish our goal because they can be more cost efficient compared to rearing catchable size trout in a hatchery.  However, some Reservation waters are managed as "put-take" fisheries because they lack suitable habitat and production or have too many non-native competitors to meet our fisheries goals using "put-grow-take" and "carry-over" techniques.

In 2009, the switch from coastal stocks of Rainbow Trout to native Redband Rainbow Trout was completed.  Subsequently, with the exception of a small number of large triploid Rainbow Trout purchased from commercial aquaculture, the only Rainbow Trout planted into Reservation lakes and streams were Redband Rainbow Trout which were the progeny of a stock maintained at CTH.  Redband Rainbow Trout production was discontinued because poor performance, in both the hatchery and Reservation waters, led to low hatchery production and harvest rates.  The last of the redbands were planted in Reservation waters in the spring of 2012. Thereafter, CTH obtained triploid Rainbow Trout eggs (Spokane stock) from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to use toward achieving production goals.  Although this stock performed well in Reservation waters, eggs were not received into the hatchery until mid- to late-December which made it impossible to mark and transport a portion of Rainbow Trout juveniles into the net pen project by May (contract start date) due to size.  Currently, the hatchery receives feminized triploid Rainbow Trout eggs in September from Troutlodge, which is able to provide Rainbow Trout eggs throughout the year, so that marking will not delay net pen entry.

The primary goals of the 2014-2015 performance period:

1. Continue developing lake management plans for each reservation water-body to provide a clear stocking plan.  Stocking plans will continue to evolve in a defensible manner as environments change and new information becomes available. This will involve building on previous studies to determine the optimum size, number and stocking strategy for each water-body.
2.  Construct and install a trash rack and self cleaning fish screen at the Twin Lakes Dam to keep hatchery supplementation in lake.
3. Continue to follow the CTH's Maintenance Plan, replace equipment and upgrade systems as necessary.
4.  Construction of two dual drain circular fish rearing tanks designed to incorporate reuse technology.  This system will be designed to operate as a flow through or partial reuse type system.  Circular tanks are more effective at capturing Total Suspended Solids, are self cleaning, have uniform oxygen mixing throughout rearing vessel and require less flow per vessel compared to traditional raceways.
5. Utilize hatchery production to enhance fisheries in the following Reservation water-bodies: Bourgeau, Buffalo, Duley, Gold, La Fleur, Little Goose, McGinnis, Nicholas, North Twin, Omak, Owhi, Round, Rufus Woods, Simpson, Soap, South Twin, Sugar, and Summit lakes, and Nespelem, Mill, and Hall creeks.
6. Continue to utilize Troutlodge feminized triploid Rainbow Trout eggs to meet hatchery production goals and also support and provide marked juvenile Rainbow Trout to the Rufus Woods Redband Net Pen (2008-117-00) project.
7. Monitor movements of Rainbow Trout and Brook Trout between North and South Twin lakes through a continuing PIT tag study.