The state of Arizona will cover about half the cost of repairs needed at a Mojave County fish hatchery that raises trout for planting in the state.
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission voted yesterday to approve a cost-sharing agreement with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Arizona will pony up about $400,000 to repair a pipeline that supplies the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery on the Colorado River, 11 miles below Hoover Dam.
The agreement between state and federal officials calls for a guaranteed egg supply for the hatchery and for the hatchery to provide 150,000 catchable 11-inch rainbow trout a year for stocking in Willow Beach and below Davis Dam.
The original cost of the repairs was estimated at $9 million, but a more affordable plan with a cost of $776,000 was developed at the urging of Senator John McCain. He called the agreement to restore trout stocking important because trout fishing supports some 1,700 area jobs and generates an estimated $75 million in economic activity.