Monday December 6, 2021
Mail Tribune —
Species like Chinook salmon, steelhead, and rainbow trout at a hatchery in southern Oregon will not grow as large as usual this winter.
The Cole Rivers fish hatchery heats its water from October through April. But last April, a cable that connected the hatchery to the Lost Creek dam broke, Jefferson Public Radio reported.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it was unable to fix the mile-long, 50-year-old cable.
The hatchery is looking into holding the fish longer to give them more time to grow. The Army Corps is expecting to find a solution to return power to the hatchery by next year, potentially connecting with the utility company Pacific Power.