Iowa DNR staff will continue to live at fish hatcheries

Iowa DNR staff to still live at fish hatcheries

Five of eight fish hatcheries have live-in staff who raise fish for stocking in lakes, ponds and streams in Iowa

Feb. 24, 2022 11:13 am, Updated: May. 26, 2022 9:48 am

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon, left, and Gov. Kim Reynolds are shown in 2021 stocking the first fish (bluegill and sunfish) after the renovation at Lake Geode. The lake was refilled in 2021 after being dry for four years. (Photo Courtesy of Chad Dolan)

After evicting park rangers from Iowa’s state parks, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said it will continue to require live-in staff at fish hatcheries.

The DNR will have Fisheries Bureau staff stay in eight state-owned houses at fish hatcheries in Manchester, Decorah, Elkader, Muscatine and Moravia.

“Fish hatcheries are one of the few government entities that are responsible for producing a live product,” said Tammie Krausman, DNR spokeswoman. “On-site residences at hatcheries serve several purposes, including quick response to alarm (water, oxygen, pumps) calls, security, and performing essential tasks during non-standard business hours.”

Last year, the state stocked 169 million fish of 15 species in lakes, ponds, rivers and streams with public access. The program costs $1.63 million a year. The state has eight fish hatcheries where they raise these fish, including trout, channel catfish, hybrid striped bass, muskie, northern pike, saugeye, walleye and more.

The below hatcheries have state-owned houses:

Big Spring, near Elkader, one house
Decorah, one house
Fairport, near Muscatine, one house
Manchester, two houses
Rathbun, near Moravia, three houses, but one is vacant

The staff who live in the houses are required to do so as a condition of employment and do not pay rent, said Mike Steuck, DNR supervisor for northeast Iowa fisheries.

“At my three trout hatcheries, we have fish on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” Steuck said of hatcheries at Manchester, Decorah and Big Spring.

“That’s the main reason we have state housing on site. We rely on pumps to provide water for the fish. If something would happen to our power supply we want to make sure we keep those fish alive. We’ve got a lot of time and effort into keeping those fish alive.”

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Hatcheries at Guttenberg, Mount Ayr and Spirit Lake do not have live-in staff. The state’s hatcheries have other employees who do not live on site, Steuck said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a resurgence of fishing in Iowa. Revenue from fishing and hunting licenses was $37.4 million in license year 2020, up $3.6 million, or 11 percent, from 2019.

The DNR decided in November it would require park rangers, park managers and other staff living in state-owned houses in Iowa’s state parks to move out by Nov. 1, partly because the agency does not want to pay up to $1 million to repair housing.

Opponents of the decision say it will increase emergency calls to sheriff’s offices and result in reduced service to campers and other park users. Iowa’s state parks had a record of nearly 17 million visitors in 2021, the DNR reported.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com

This is one of two state-owned houses at the Iowa fish hatchery in Manchester. Staff live in the houses so they can be close to the fish operations round the clock. (Photo from Delaware County Assessor)