Intruder Damages Dworshak Hatchery Security Tightened After Someone Tried To Snag Fish

Damage done by intruders at the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery wasn’t as bad as initially feared, but has resulted in tighter security there.

The hatchery is located east of Lewiston, near Dworshak Dam. Last weekend, when the facility was closed, someone apparently tried to snag hatchery-raised adult steelhead trout, information officer Susan Sawyer said Wednesday.

The fish had returned from their migration to the sea. They were in the first holding pond that they reached after climbing the fish ladder that detours them from the North Fork of the Clearwater River. The intruder or intruders were standing in a public viewing area nearby.

The intruder used treble hooks attached to two lines, Sawyer said. One line looked like speaker wire and one like parachute cord, she said.

Instead of hooking fish, “they snagged the grate at the bottom of the pond, so the fish could move out of the pond and into a channel. … We’re guessing 150 to 200 fish could have been in the pond at the time. We’re not sure how many of those went into the channel.”

At first, hatchery staff feared the fish would get into the plumbing system and cause major problems. But an engineer and maintenance supervisor narrowed their location to the single 170-foot-long, 7-foot-deep channel.

The fish will stay there until the fast-moving water in the channel drops later in the spring, she said. “Right now it’s not safe or feasible to go in there and herd them back where they came from.”

Meanwhile, the grate has been replaced and security measures increased, Sawyer said.

“We’re closing the gate after hours to that open public viewing area, and the Clearwater County sheriff has stepped up patrols at the hatchery.”

The episode will have no effect on the spawning program, Sawyer said. The vandalism remains under investigation. The sheriff has no leads or suspects, Sawyer said.