Doug helping and holding a fish up next to kids at our Kids Fishing events at Genoa. Photo: USFWS.

Hatchery Swan Song
As most of you know, my tenure at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery and the Fish and Wildlife Service for that matter is swiftly coming to an end. I plan on retiring the end of August to pursue other passions such as sleeping in until 7 a.m., nurturing some grandchildren (who thankfully live close enough to nurture), and paying some much due love and attention to my bride of 40+ years, who has been faithfully supporting me throughout my working years. I would be reticent to forget to acknowledge all the people along the way that have supported me and walked with me on our shared mission of aquatic conservation over the 39+ years of the journey.

I have been blessed to have been supported by and worked with some of the most creative, intelligent, thoughtful, and dedicated people through this trip, which included family, friends, co-workers, supervisors, mentors, and partners. It even included people that just had a passion to try to make the world a little better by volunteering to help save it, one conservation task at a time. It includes my supervisors both immediate and regionally that pushed me to do something lasting and meaningful and to think outside the norms in order to “make a difference”. A shared love of the resource and its importance to conserve it is the glue that holds us together, but it is the people and their diverse talents, personalities, and interests that I am going to cherish the most. I also must acknowledge the people we have met and have come to love along the way in our 7 different locations throughout the journey. The church congregations, pastor/shepherds, and church families and “adopted parents and grandparents” that we have leaned on for support and friendship while we were miles away from our own families have been a literal godsend. Thanks again to all of you. I also must acknowledge the love and sacrifices of my wife and 5 children along the way. There have been times when moving away from our support groups was difficult, and many times I was not as present as I should have been. I apologize now and hope to make up for it.
In closing I would just like to say it has been a wonderful ride. Keep using the gifts that God has given you, whether they may be the working of your hands and minds to further conservation, or your service and hospitality to others. Thank you from the bottom of a grateful heart. Fare well and God bless.
By: Doug Aloisi