Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

TEN SLEEP - The Wigwam Rearing Station, four miles east of Ten Sleep on U.S. Highway 16, produces 35,000 to 45,000 pounds of trout annually. With that kind of production on a yearly basis, the Wigwam Rearing Station, one of eight Wyoming Game and Fish fish hatcheries in the state, produces the third most fish of those eight hatcheries.

According to Jeff Stafford, the Hatchery Superintendant, "We're the third largest production facility in the state most years. We raise 35,000 to 45,000 pounds of trout a year, which equates to somewhere between 200,000 to 350,000 fish. We are a rearing station, so most fish are brought in at a small size and are raised up to a larger size. We do hatch some of our own eggs and do some of our own fish. It's just on a small scale. Right now we raise approximately 100,000 of our own fish."

The Wigwam Rearing Station is located four miles east of Ten Sleep and utilizes two natural springs and one well that flows at a constant temperature of 49 degrees. The two springs and well flow at a combined rate of 1,800 gallons per minute. As a result of the tremendous flow rate of the two springs and well, the temperature of the water flowing in to the station stays at a constant temperature 49 degrees, regardless if it's January or July.

The rearing station raises a variety of trout species during the year.

"We raise splake, rainbow trout, kokanee salmon, brook trout, tiger trout, and the Bear River cutthroat trout. We stock fish all over the state, not just the Big Horn Basin. We try to do things that are close to the hatchery to save money, but sometimes that's not possible. Sometimes we can supply a fish that nobody else can and so we pick up fish in other parts of the state," Stafford said.

In 2012 two water treatment structures were built to help combat whirling disease. The two water treatment structures use ultra violet rays to kill the whirling disease parasites before the filtered water re-enters the facility. Nitrogen gas is also filtered out during the filtration process. State legislature money was used to complete the construction in 2012.

"Basically this hatchery is funded through license sales and federal aid. State taxes are not used to fund the facility unless certain projects earmarked by the legislature are approved. Like this construction project (2012) was funded through legislature. For the most part the hatchery is funded by hunters and fisherman. What we do is supply that product back to the hunters and fisherman. We don't stock private waters, we only stock public waters, unless it's deemed in the best interest of the department. We don't want to stock the public's fish were they can't access those fish," Stafford said.

There is always an employee on call seven days a week, 24 hours a day, according to Stafford.

"One of three permanent personnel is on call to respond to alarms if equipment fails and to provide security. If the oxygen generators quit, we need to have oxygen going to our fish or they would die. One of three of us is always on duty 24-7, so if the alarm goes off at 3 in the morning, whoever is on duty that week has to get up and come down and fix any issues. Do whatever they can to keep the fish alive. So far we haven't had a major catastrophe, everything has worked really well," Stafford said.

Ryan Mitchel Collins

Fish Culturist Kerrie Vivian releases a Bear River cutthroat Trout back into the rearing tank.

Official tours are available when scheduled in advance, but the hatchery is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"We encourage the public to stop by and visit," said Stafford.