Overview: The original Oden State Fish Hatchery was established in 1921 and continued to operate until 2002. The new Oden State Fish Hatchery complex was completed in 2002 and is one of the most advanced fish culture facilities of its kind. This facility is the brown and rainbow trout broodstock station and is a major rearing facility for those two species. The facility has production buildings for rearing and broodstock, outdoor rearing facilities and a state of the art effluent treatment system. The old hatchery has been transformed into a Great Lakes watershed interpretation area, featuring a Michigan Fisheries Visitor Center that includes a replica of a fish transportation railcar.

Location: 8258 South Ayr Road, Alanson, MI 49706.

Photo: Oden State Fish Hatchery - Main Hatchery Building.

Driving Directions: The interpretive complex is located on US-31 (north side of road) just west of Oden. The railcar, old hatchery building and parking lot are visible from US 31. If you are coming from Petoskey, do not turn north (left) on North Conway Road where the sign for the hatchery is. Instead, continue another mile.

The hatchery complex is just off of US-31 a few miles to the northwest from Oden. To get to the hatchery complex from the Town of Oden: Take Luce Street in town to Powers Road, bear left with road. Take Powers Road for about 1 mile to South Ayr Road and turn left (only way possible). Hatchery is about 1/2 mile on the right side and park by the main hatchery building. To get to the hatchery complex from Petoskey: Take US-31 East to North Conway Road (about 5 miles) and turn left (only way possible). Take North Conway Road to Powers Road (about 1 mile) and turn right. Take Powers Road for about 1.5 miles to South Ayr Road and turn right (only way possible). Hatchery is about 1/2 mile on the right side and park by the main hatchery building.

Map:

Telephone: (231) 347-4689

Hatchery Manager: Edward Eisch

Hatchery Biologist: Dan Sampson

Year Opened: 1921

Photo: Oden State Fish Hatchery Postcard from the 1920s.

Renovation History: A major renovation at the old facility occurred in 1951 and the hatchery continued to operate under those changes until 2002. The old hatchery, located on US31, was closed in June 2002 and all operations moved to the new hatchery complex, 1/4 mile northeast of the old facility.

Photo: Oden State Fish Hatchery as seen in the early 1940s.

The new facility was part of a large capitol outlay project to upgrade Michigan's hatchery system. It includes new production buildings for rearing and broodstock, new raceways, an isolation building to allow us to examine the disease status of species and strains from the Great Lakes drainage, and a state-of-the-art effluent control system. The new facility cost $11,000,000 and construction was completed in 2002.

Photo: Main Hatchery Building at the Oden State Fish Hatchery.

Photo: Interior of one of the outdoor raceways at the Oden State Fish Hatchery.

Another major upgrade was the development of a Michigan Fisheries Visitor Center, located at the old hatchery site, which enters its sixth summer of operation in 2008. The center consists of an interpretive area that boasts a replica of the Wolverine fish transport railcar at the main visitor center, extensive exhibits on watersheds and fisheries history, a watershed trail system, and a rehabilitated stream. The railcar is a historic recreation of the interior of the original railcar, a watershed interpretive area and an interactive computer with hands-on learning opportunities concerning our watersheds and other aspects of fish culture. A trout stream was constructed within the confines of the old raceway complex and shows the public how a degraded stream can be repaired. One of the most popular attractions at the MFVC is a viewing chamber located adjacent to the stream. The viewing chamber allows visitors the chance to look into the side of the stream and watch brook, brown and rainbow trout behaving feeding and behaving naturally. Occasionally, you even get a chance to see a naturally occurring tiger trout which is a cross between a brook trout and a brown trout. In the spring, you will see large numbers of suckers that have migrated up from Crooked Lake as the stack up in front of the viewing chamber window. This viewing chamber is one of only a handful in the entire country and is the only one found east of the Mississippi River. The project was primarily funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust (www.glft.org) with additional funding from the Department of Natural Resources.

Photo: Oden Interpretive Area - Replica of the Wolverine railcar once used to transport fish in the early days of fisheries management.

Photo: A young visitor enjoys viewing the trout in the MFVC viewing chamber window.

Production Water: Oden State Fish Hatchery obtains rearing water from 5 wells and has the ability to reuse up to 25% of the water in the outdoor raceway complex. Average water use is approximately 3.5 million gallons per day with seasonal usage ranging between 2.0 and 4.5 million gallons per day. The water temperature of well water is a constant 47 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hatchery Staffing: The hatchery is currently staffed by the Hatchery Manager, a Hatchery Biologist, a Park Interpreter, three Fisheries Technicians, a Fisheries Assistant (Seasonal) and a Maintenance Mechanic. The staffing plan also includes a Trades Helper, but that position is currently unfunded.

Broodstock: Oden State Fish Hatchery is the sole broodstock facility for brown and domestic rainbow trout for Fisheries Division. It maintains broodstock for Wild Rose, Seeforellen, and Gilchrist Creek strains of brown trout and the Eagle Lake strain of rainbow trout. A fourth strain of brown trout (Sturgeon River strain) is currently being developed to replace the Seeforellen strain. The Sturgeon River browns should be in full production by the 2011 spawning season. Broodstock are captive fish that we maintain for the production of eggs and milt. The fertilized eggs collected at Oden are also sent to Thompson and Harrietta for their production programs.

Management Role: This facility produces brown and rainbow trout for both inland and Great Lake waters.

Areas of Interest to the Public: The key areas of interest include the interpretive facilities and trails, the replica fish car, the show pond (one of the old hatcheries spring ponds), the broodstock building which has very large brown and rainbow trout, the production raceways and the new hatchery complex. Egg take operations are conducted in October, November and December and the public is welcome to watch. Please call ahead for the egg-take dates.

Fish Hatchery and Visitor Center Hours: The fish hatchery is open to the public on guided public tours. Tours are offered daily in the summer and by reservation in the fall, winter, and spring. The hatchery is not open for self guided visits. Call the Michigan Fisheries Visitor Center at 231-348-0998 for hatchery tours. The visitor center's hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day. For further information or to schedule group tours of the hatchery or other year-round interpretive programs.