PROPAGATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD FISHES, 1931 653 



their early stages, the fish have not been reared extensively. During 

 the past fiscal year a sufficient number of adult grayling were captured 

 to yield a collection of 1,000,000 eggs. These were fertilized and 

 planted in the egg stage in the waters from which the fish were taken. 

 The captures were made in connection with an attempt to secure data 

 on the possibility of collecting rainbow trout eggs in Grebe Lake in 

 the Yellowstone National Park. The success of this preliminary work 

 has encouraged the conduct of future grayling operations in Grebe 

 Lake, and with this end in view plans are being made to provide 

 hatching facilities and to construct more permanent racks and traps 

 for the capture of adult grayling. 



SUCCESSFUL POND-FISH WORK IN MONTANA 



During 1931, the second year of its operation, the Lake Garberson 

 substation, located near Miles City, Mont., surpassed the impressive 

 record of its first year's work in the production of pond fishes. As the 

 operations in this field were on an experimental basis, a number of 

 the more important improvements, including the installation of a 

 permanent water supply, were held in abeyance until a decision could 

 be reached as to whether expenditures for permanent improvements 

 would be justified. The unfinished condition of the plant, together 

 with the effects of the drought, caused fluctuations in the water level 

 and permitted the flooding of only a fractional part of the pond area. 

 This, of course, resulted in a smaller output of fish than should be 

 realized after the station has been fully completed. The work at 

 Lake Garberson is conducted cooperatively with the Montana Fish 

 and Game Commission, and the greater part of the year's production 

 of 316,855 largemouth black bass, crappie, sunfish, and catfish was 

 received by the State. 



During the fiscal year a pond was formed alongside Lake Garberson 

 by the construction of a dam. A drainage and supply system was 

 provided and the initial production of the new enclosure, to" be known 

 as Lake Keough, will appear in the fall of 1931. The output of this 

 lake, with the bureau's share of the Lake Garberson production, will 

 constitute a large percentage of the pond fishes distributed by the 

 Bureau of Fisheries in the Northwest. 



FISH HATCHERY SITE, MOUNT RAINIER, WASH. 



With the exception of the Yellowstone and Glacier Parks, the distri- 

 bution of fish in the national parks has been limited greatly by a lack 

 of near-by producing stations. This condition was further stressed 

 in Mount Rainier National Park by the fact that no trout stations 

 are operated by the bureau in the State of Washington. For this 

 reason the recent selection of a trout hatchery site at Silver Spring, 

 within the park boundaries, promises to relieve much of the strain 

 formerly experienced in the stocking of waters throughout this region. 

 Preparations for the construction of this hatchery were being made 

 as the fiscal year ended. 



EFFECTS OF THE DROUGHT 



The majority of the bureau's fish-cultural stations are so located 

 that adequate water for their operation is available throughout the 

 year. During the past year, however, the volume of lakes and streams 



