18 REPORT OF MONTANA FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



tion. This station will be a great advantage to the sportsmen in that 

 section of the State, since it is on the main line of the Northern 

 Pacific Railway and is much easier to ship fish from there during 

 certain seasons of the year than can be done from the station at 

 Emigrant. 



The Red Lodge Hatchery is located in the Bear Tooth National 

 Forest on a site donated by the Forestry Department. Its use is for 

 stocking the waters of the Bear Tooth National Forest. It is located 

 twelve miles from Red Lodge. 



The Emigrant Hatchery has been in the process of being built since 

 it was first begun in 1919. From the time the Hatchery was first 

 used the largest fish distributed by the department have always been 

 shipped from the Emigrant station. The thing which has held up the 

 completion of this station more than anything else has been the fact 

 that due to a mistake on the part of the person or persons who located 

 the hatchery building site, it was forgotten to select the site within 

 the bounds of the land that was donated to the commission. Rearing 

 Ponds were constructed at this station in October. 1920. they have been 

 a pronounced success, but the continual trampling of innumerable 

 sheep, cattle and hogs crossing from one side to the other especially 

 during the time when fish are being held therein, makes the work dis- 

 heartening. At certain seasons of the year it requires the attention of 

 one employee to keep the new born lambs out of the ponds. The loca- 

 tion of this station would make it one of tlie most important of all 

 stations operated by the commission, could it be finally completed. 

 Under present conditions it is impossible to do any ground work of 

 a permanent nature, or to build a suitable road leading from the 

 Yellowstone Trail to the Hatchery, a distance of perhaps two or three 

 hundred yards. 



The Georgetown Hatchery has been constructed by the Commission. 

 It is to be used primarily for the eyeing of eggs, and is confidently 

 expected to pay for itself the first year of operation in the saving of 

 eggs, since to move green eggs always results in more or less loss. It 

 will hold several million eggs until they are eyed when they will be 

 shipped to other sections of the State to the various hatcheries operat- 

 ed by the Commission. A small, attractive, yet inexpensive cottage 

 has been built to house the employees of the Department during the 

 egg collecting season. Across the lake at Flint Creek a cottage has 

 been built to house the employees during the egg collecting season. 

 Permanent traps have also been built at Flint Creek. Those which 

 have been installed previous to the present ones could not be termed 

 permanent because they usually wash away as soon as the creek begins 

 to rise. There has been considerable work done at Flint Creek, but 

 there were enough eggs lost in one night, due to the previous traps 

 washing out, to more than pay for all the work that has been done 

 there this fall. F\uU Creek produces more eggs of Rainliow. Native 

 and Grayling than all the other stations operated by the Department 

 combined. With the facilities now obtaining at both Georgetown and 

 P^lint Creek, it will be possible to handle the work in a thorough and 

 methodical manner, something which could not be done in thr past. 

 After the egg season the Georgetown Hatchery will hatch sufficient 

 fish for stocking the neighboring streams in Granite County, thus re- 

 lieving the Anaconda Station of a portion of its work. 



There are two types of rearing ponds, natural rearing ponds where 

 natural food is available and I'ish are not led artificial food, and 

 artificial rearing ponds wherein the fish are fed artificial food dailv by 

 an attendant. 



The type of pond termed natural rearing jiond would be a pond 

 created by simply providing lieadgales and an overflow dam at the 

 lower end. The h.adgate to prevent the fish from ascending, and an 



