Oklahoma Wildlife Commission tours Durant State Fish Hatchery

The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission toured the Durant State Fish Hatchery recently and held its September meeting there. The two-day event was part of an effort to give Commissioners a first-hand look at various field operations of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. 

     The facility at Durant is the largest and one of four state fish hatcheries owned and operated by the Wildlife Department that produce millions of fish each year for stocking Oklahoma waters to enhance angling. 

     Before the official meeting Sept. 9, Commissioners toured the hatchery and were briefed on a number of upcoming maintenance and renovation needs required to keep the facility operating at a productive level. The Department is currently nearing the beginning of a $1.5 million project that will replace the hatchery's pump station that is used to supply water to the entire hatchery. The station currently in place is located on the Blue River and, while it still works, it is very inefficient. During times of drought when the river is down four to five feet, it is unusable. Some of the pump station equipment in use is 40-50 years old, and the station itself was built in the 1920s. 

     The new pump station will be highly efficient, even during times of drought, and will include new lines that deliver water from the river to the hatchery's 100-acre reservoir for use in the many hatchery ponds on the grounds. A separate disinfection station also will be constructed near the hatchery entrance that will allow for disinfecting all trucks, boats and equipment that enter the hatchery grounds and is designed to prevent possible spread of aquatic nuisance species on the hatchery and in its water supply. 

     In upcoming years, the hatchery water supply reservoir itself will be in need of its own renovation, according to hatchery manager Gordon Schomer. Such a project would, among other priorities, include draining the reservoir, increasing its depth for more water storage, and adding rip-rap to prevent erosion and breached levies. The hatchery also is in need of improved water delivery and fish harvesting systems to 32 ponds on the north side of the grounds that are unusable in their current state. Dubbed "Phase 3," this section of the hatchery is as large or larger than any of the other three state fish hatcheries operated by the Wildlife Department. 

     The Durant State Fish Hatchery is especially important to the Wildlife Department's Florida largemouth bass production program. Florida genetics are key to producing trophy sized bass that end up growing to record sizes in Oklahoma. 

     The Department began its Florida largemouth bass stocking program in 1970 with fish provided by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hatchery in Uvalde, Texas. The agency continued to evaluate the program through the 1990s. Once a supply of fish was no longer available from the USFWS, the Durant State Fish Hatchery began maintaining broodstock and producing fingerlings in the year 2000. 

     The success of the Florida bass stocking program has become more and more evident as it has matured. In recent years, multiple largemouth bass state records have been broken - two of which came from southeast Oklahoma's Cedar Lake in consecutive years - and earlier this year, tournament anglers at Lake Arbuckle turned in two five-fish stringers totaling at least 40 pounds each over the course of two consecutive weekends. The Department's Fisheries Division enjoyed record Florida largemouth bass production in 2013, producing 2.2 million fish and stocking 44 lakes. 

     The Florida largemouth bass program is a year-round endeavor for state hatcheries and fisheries biologists. Being on the edge of the range for this subtropical fish presents certain challenges. Fisheries personnel for the Department have to employ careful techniques in raising, stocking and managing the fish to ensure their success. Special care is given to everything from how broodstock are handled to meticulous DNA profiling to ensure genetic purity. About 44 acres of pond space are needed to raise forage to feed the bass brood-stock, and five pounds of forage are needed to maintain every one pound of brood fish. Producing future brood fish is a three-year investment, and older brooders are continually replaced as they become less productive as they age. 

     "It's a very involved process with a range of challenges," Schomer said. "And there are challenges that we face such as aging hatcheries that need renovations and repairs. But we are striving to meet those challenges the best we can while at the same time making sure to be as productive as possible in order to benefit our state's water, our fish and the anglers who catch them. Improved techniques in broodstock handling, increased forage production resulting in healthier brood fish, improved pond fertilization techniques and creating better spawning habitat, among other things, have all led to significantly increased production of fry and fingerlings the past few years, which ultimately impacts on the success of Oklahoma's anglers."

     Other business at the September Commission meeting included the following: 

• The Commission accepted a donation of $2,175 from the 89ers Chapter of Quail Forever to be used for the purchase of a cedar cutter to be used on northwest Oklahoma wildlife management areas. The donation was presented by the Chapter's chair, Laura McIver, who was recently nominated as a finalist in Field & Stream's Heroes of Conservation contest. The 89ers Chapter of Quail Forever was formed in October 2005. It was the first chapter formed in Oklahoma and among the first in the nation. The chapter was founded because of the concern for declining quail populations in Oklahoma and nationwide.
• Department Director Richard Hatcher recognized two Wildlife Department employees for years of service to the agency. Bill Wentroth, north central region fisheries supervisor, was recognized for 35 years of service, and Russ Horton, Lands and Wildlife Diversity supervisor, was recognized for 25 years of service. 
• The Commission was briefed on the completion of a purchase of a 440-acre inholding at Cimarron Hills Wildlife Management area and authorized the Director to enter into contract and terms deemed appropriate for the purchase of tracts of land in Atoka and Love counties. 

     The Wildlife Conservation Commission is the eight-member governing board of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and is responsible for establishing state hunting and fishing regulations, setting policy for the Wildlife Department and indirectly overseeing all state fish and wildlife conservation activities. Commission members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. 

     The next scheduled Commission meeting is set for 9 a.m. Oct. 7 at the Wildlife Department headquarters in Oklahoma City.