Friends of the Upper Mississippi

SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2023

8:30 AM—12:00 PM

Genoa National Fish Hatchery

Join staff from the 3 La Crosse area U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries Offices and our Friends Group, the Friends of the Upper Mississippi for a day of fishing fun!

This popular annual event is for children 5-12 years old who are accompanied by a parent or guardian. The event begins with hands-on learning sessions about fishing techniques and conservation, then children are allowed to fish in a stocked hatchery pond.

Poles & Bait will be supplied, with no outside bait allowed due to biosecurity concerns.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Email: Erica_Rasmussen@fws.gov

Or call: 608-689-2605

Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly eggs that were received in November from research partners at Univ. of South Dakota are still happily chilling in their winter homes. These eggs are maintained at a steady 3-4°C until a planned warming schedule that will begin in April. During the warming time, temperatures are stepped up a few degrees per week and egg cups are checked daily for new hatches. New hatches are then placed in individual culture cups and a routine feeding schedule of zooplankton prey begins.
Hine’s Emerald eggs over wintering in a culture cup. Photo: Beth Glidewell/USFWS.

New juvenile culture is a very hands-on, time intensive stage of the culture cycle, so while we’re waiting for the spring hatch to begin, supplies are being gathered and prepared. One of the steps that slowed down the process last season was filtering and concentrating zooplankton prey out of pond water that is pumped through the mussel building raceways. Each culture cup is fed a few milliliters of this concentrated food 2-3 times per week, so to speed up this step, additional sieves were assembled to double the filtering capacity. Culture cups have also been gathered, pre-written labels are being prepared, pipettes and other bench-top supplies have been collected… now fingers crossed that the eggs remain stable for a few more weeks, then a successful hatch can begin!
By: Beth Glidewell

Hine’s Emerald eggs over wintering in a culture cup. Photo: Beth Glidewell/USFWS

Al and Doug holding an award in their hands and Vickie and Doug hold an award. Photo: USFWS.

Two of our very special Friends were honored at our recent Volunteer and Friends Appreciation Banquet on Friday night. These two award winners provide such energy, enthusiasm and dedication to support the Fish and Wildlife Service and the hatchery and its Conservation and Environmental Education Goals. Our first recipient, Al Brinkman has been a dedicated Friend and Volunteer. He spends many hours helping us tag 1,000’s of lake sturgeon, freshwater mussels and whatever task that needs a helping hand.
He has also served as a board member and officer in our Friends Group, serving a vital role as Vice President and Co-President for the group. Al has been a Friends Group member for over a decade and is an active volunteer in the larger community of La Crosse, Wisconsin. For his continued service as a Volunteer and Valued Friend Al earns the hatchery’s Conservation Steward Award of 2022.

Vickie Walley has been an active and productive supporter of the hatchery’s conservation mission over the years by running the Friends Group Bookstore and Gift Shop since 2018. Her fantastic energy and organizational skills assisted in the acquiring of all the initial inventories, setting up computerized credit card access and inventory controls, and re-stocking necessary items when needed. She also did the accounting for the store with reports to the Friends Group quarterly. Vickie also set the staffing schedule to ensure hours were covered during opening Visitor Center hours during peak times of tourism season. Her and her husband Ron make a great team, assisting in many youth oriented programs to cultivate the next generation of conservation stewards in the La Crosse area. They do this by supporting youth outdoor events such as Youth Outdoor Fest and our Kids Fishing Days. Vickie is stepping down this year after 5 years of service and we are awarding her with the hatchery’s Meritorious Service Award for 2022. Thanks Vickie and Al! We truly can’t accomplish our Conservation Mission without your help!
By: Doug Aloisi

Eyed Coaster Brook Trout eggs in a strainer. Photo: USFWS.

The newest additions to Genoa National Fish Hatchery arrived on station on January 17th. About 70,000 fertilized Coaster Brook Trout eggs were sent from our sister hatchery at Iron River National Fish Hatchery from captive broodstock that were started in our quarantine building at Genoa in 2017 and 2018. After a quick disinfection bath, the eggs were placed in hatching jars to continue their development. We expect that hatching will begin within the next couple of weeks. From there, we will raise these fish until spring of 2024, hopefully in excess of 10 inches by that time. Most of these fish will be stocked for the Coaster Brook Trout restoration program in Grand Portage Band of Chippewa waters of Lake Superior and its nearby tributaries. Hopefully these fish will be part of the resurgence of this once plentiful, unique strain of Brook Trout in Lake Superior waters. The remainder will go to interior lakes on Red Lake Nation lands to become part of a tremendous recreational trout fishery. By: Nick Bloomfield

transferring eggs into an incubation jar. Photo: USFWS.