CALIFORNIA PISH AND GAME. 83 



county. The board of county supervisors had eliarge of the distribu- 

 tion of the fish hatched and were able to see to it that the local streams 

 were well stocked with the output. 



The object of this hatchery was to propagate rainbow trout from the 

 fish in Bear Valley Lake. Bear Valley Lake (locally known as Big 

 Bear Lake) is a body of water seven miles long and one and a half 

 miles wide at its widest part. It is an artificial storage lake lying in 

 the heart of the San Bernardino Mountains, about thirty miles from 

 San Bernardino, at an elevation of about 7000 feet. This lake was 

 stocked previously with rainbow fry from the state hatcheries, and 

 these fish thrived remarkably. The association did not make a success 

 of the hatchery and turned it over to the Fish and Game Commission. 

 In 1919 the necessity of increasing the capacity of the Bear Lake 

 hatchery at Green Spot Springs became apparent, the old buildings 

 that had been erected by the Southern California Trout Association 

 being found inadequate. After procuring a permit from the forest 

 service for a site adjacent to the site leased from San Bernardino 

 County, a new hatchery with modern troughs was erected and fully 

 equipped for the hatching and rearing of trout fry. The site at Green 

 Spot Springs is about twelve miles from the egg-collecting station at 

 North Creek. This is the only water available for hatchery purposes 

 near Bear Lake. All the creeks dry up as the summer advances, except 

 some small springs used for domestic purposes. 



The Green Spot Springs rise near the foot of Sugar Loaf Mountain 

 and flow through a shallow^ ravine toward Baldwin Lake. The water 

 is used by the Shay Brothers on their stock ranch, after it leaves the 

 hatchery. There is approximately 20 inches of water in the spring. 

 It is cool and free from any organic substances, and is excellent 

 hatchery water. 



During the summer and fall of 1919, general improvements at North 

 Creek Egg-collecting Station were made, and a new hatchery at Green 

 Spot Springs with a capacity of 1,500,000 fry was erected. The work 

 was begun early in September, but owing to delays in getting mate- 

 rials was not finished until late in November. At the hatchery at North 

 Creek Egg-collecting Station, a portion of the eggs are hatched each 

 season and the fry held until they are swimming well; then they are 

 distributed in the most favorable places in Bear Lake, where there is 

 an abundance of natural food. The fry can not be held in North Creek 

 station later than the middle of July, as the water in North Creek fails 

 by that time. The remainder of the fry reared for Bear Lake are held 

 in the hatchery at Green Spot Springs until later in the season, when 

 they are distributed in the lake in the shallows and other favorable 

 spots. 



During 1919 plans were made to build suitable quarters for the help 

 at North Creek Egg-collecting Station, a cabin and a new trap on 

 Metcalf Creek, and a cabin and a trap on Grout Creek. A new trap 

 was built in North Creek, and the egg-collecting station and hatchery 

 were repaired and improved. 



The principal streams entering Bear Lake — North Creek, Metcalf 

 Creek, Butler Creek and Grout Creek — were filled with sand from the 

 high-water mark on the lake shore to the water's edge, averaging in 



