Mitigation Hatcheries
Some Background Info

The State of Arkansas has the responsibility to manage the fishery resources within its boundary.  The Norfork and Greers Ferry National Fish Hatcheries working together with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is one of the best examples of inter-agency cooperation anywhere in the country.  In north central Arkansas fishing is the heartbeat of their economy.  Agencies like Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission and US Fish and Wildlife Service working together make this a trout fishing paradise destination.  The Norfork and Greers Ferry NFH are shining example of how things can be done more efficiently and cheaply when State and Federal agencies work together.
  
The problem originates with the fact that the older dams built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (COE) in the Southeast do not have explicit statutory mitigation requirements. To further complicate the situation, Congressional mitigation intent for these dams is vague and difficult to verify. Norfork Dam and Greers Ferry Dam were constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) prior to the enactment of laws establishing Federal policy for mitigating fishery losses resulting from Federal dams. For several years the UFWS has been working to recover costs from responsible agencies in order to focus its available funding on native fish recovery and restoration.  In many cases, the USFWS is funding and conducting mitigation programs despite the lack of reimbursements from Federal water development projects, in our case COE.  This impairs the USFWS to deliver other needed aquatic resource programs not to mention a hatchery maintenance backlog of several million dollars.

Additionally, having the State of Arkansas assume responsibility for the hatcheries is very complicated.  The federal hatchery system, in specific the trout program, is a network of fish production facilities and egg-producing broodstock facilities.  The eggs for the Norfork and Greers Ferry hatcheries come from FEDERAL broodstock hatcheries.  A vast majority of the state hatcheries in the Southeast also receive their eggs from federal broodstock facilities. The connectivity of the federal system assures disease-free, eyed eggs, and should fish production be lost at either the Norfork or Greers Ferry facility due to poor water quality or disease, then fish would be brought in from other federal hatcheries to replace the loss.  As state facilities, none of this would be possible.  It’s easy to say “as long as the fish are here we don’t care where they come from”.  However, it does matter for future generations, that Arkansas, with the help of the USFWS, maintains a viable fisheries program.
  
If you still have questions call me at the hatchery.  Craig Eaton, 870-499-5255.