New Life for the High Lakes
A state-funded hatchery at the head of Lake Chelan begins an ambitious program to stock isolated waters with game fish.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Chelan, Wash., Wednesday—The new fish hatchery established on the Stehekin River, at the head of Lake Chelan, for which the last legislature made an appropriation of $3,000, is well under way. J. M. Crawford, state superintendent of fish hatcheries, recently spent several days at the head of the lake getting things under way. S. S. Drew is to take charge of this important point. In the hatchery, it is proposed to propagate Lake Superior whitefish, black bass, eastern brook trout, and salmon of various kinds, including native brook and Lake Chelan trout. There are many little lakes in the state without outlets that are practically isolated from all other waters that today are without fish of any kind; in such waters as these, it is proposed to introduce black bass, as such waters are perfectly safe for a cannibal fish of this nature, since there is no way of getting out or mixing with the trout of other streams or waters. Anyone desiring to stock a lake or brook with any of the fish propagated here may do so by making a requisition to the state fish commissioner.
“There are many little lakes in the state without outlets that are practically isolated... and in such waters as these, it is proposed to introduce black bass.”
This 1903 initiative to 'engineer' local ecosystems for sport reflects the early government push to transform Washington's wilderness into a managed recreational resource. While the state still manages fish stocking today, our understanding of 'isolated' ecosystems and the impact of introducing non-native species like black bass into mountain lakes has shifted significantly.
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