By Steve Weisman

The Spirit Lake Hatchery is under attack! With the fact that zebra mussels have been found in Big Spirit, yes, the Spirit Lake Hatchery is under attack. “We get our water from Big Spirit, and the facility is not built to handle zebra mussels. They could clog the hatchery supply lines, and we will likely not be able to continue to operate as we have in the past. We will be ok this year, but after this year, we are in for some real challenges,” says Mike Hawkins, DNR Fisheries Biologist at the Spirit Lake Hatchery.

What does that mean? The worst case scenario is that the Spirit Lake Hatchery would have to close! That’s right. If zebra mussels clog the intake pipe and the internal plumbing of the hatchery, it will be impossible to hatch and grow fish.

Hawkins notes that they knew that this could potentially happen, so designs are being completed right now for a new filtration system that can withstand zebra mussels and keep the facility functioning. The estimated cost will be $1,200,000. The problem? Funding is a big question.

Right now the designs will be completed, but funds to complete construction are up in the air. Cuts have been made in so many areas that at this point, there is very little money available for major projects like this.

Although Hawkins remains optimistic, this is where I get on my soapbox again. The Spirit Lake Hatchery, like all hatcheries in the state, belongs to the people of Iowa and is funded by hunting and fishing license sales. The Spirit Lake Hatchery provides all of the northern pike and muskie stocked in the state of Iowa. In addition, there are enough pike and muskie raised for the state to initiate trades with other states for fish that we don’t produce here in Iowa, like adult perch from South Dakota that can be introduced into lakes involved in shallow lake renovations.

At the same time, the Spirit Lake Hatchery provides 65 percent of the walleye fry stocked in the state.

Obviously, these stockings mean that Iowa has excellent fisheries. Without the excellent fisheries, we will lose our anglers. Instead of staying in the state, they will go to other states where they can catch fish. Plus, anglers from other states will hesitate to come here to fish.

At the same time, stocking is used as a tool to improve water quality and improve the ecology of the lakes and streams across the state.

We definitely need to make our voice heard, and to let our legislators, DNR leaders in Des Moines know that funding this filtration system at the Spirit Lake Hatchery through the passage of the Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund bill is a true necessity. We don’t need to go over the cliff and then say, “Boy, we should have taken care of this problem before we lost our hatchery and our stocking program!”

How about a Friends Group of the Spirit Lake Hatchery

Yes, I am serious about this! We have lots of great friends groups here in the Iowa Great Lakes, and they all do a great job of helping whatever cause they are representing. Why not a Friends Group of the Spirit Lake Hatchery? I’ve heard rumors that this idea is being considered, and I think it would be an excellent way to help out one of the most important things for our lakes and rivers! Simply put, where would our lakes be without the stocking from the Spirit Lake Hatchery?

What it would really be saying is this: “We believe that the Spirit Lake Hatchery is worth saving. We don’t want to see it closed for lack of funding to fix a problem brought on by humans.” All of the exotics we are dealing with have been brought here by humans-probably unknowingly, but the end result is still the same. So, I really believe we need to step up and make sure the Spirit Lake Hatchery does not get shut down and succumb to the infestation of zebra mussels!

(Photo by Steve Weisman) This is a sample of the density of zebra mussels on East Okoboji. With zebra mussels now found in Big Spirit Lake, the Spirit Lake Hatchery will soon be under attack from this prolific exotic.