Salmon River Hatchery in Otis to limit operations due to loss of funding

OTIS Ore. (KPTV) - The Salmon River Hatchery will see reduced production after losing funding, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).

The hatchery raises fall Chinook salmon for the Salmon River, coho salmon for the lower Columbia River, and rainbow trout for the mid and north Oregon Coast.

ODFW says its recent legislatively-adopted budget will not include funding for the hatchery - opened in 1975 - which faces issues with water supply, aging infrastructure, and being prone to flooding.

While the hatchery will not shut down, ODFW says much of the production will be shifted to other hatcheries in the state.

“Closing a hatchery is a very difficult decision, and it’s also very rare. In the past three decades or more, ODFW has closed only one hatchery, and that was