Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery

The sister hatchery to our hatchery (Green Lake) is Craig Brook NFH.  We visited CBNFH when we were volunteering in Maine in 2011 (See July 28, 2011 blog).

This hatchery is very different than Green Lake.  There is a visitor center with lots of exhibits and nice displays.  There is a boat launch and picnic area, nature trails, and an Atlantic salmon fly fishing museum.

We walked around the visitor center looking at the displays and putting together a puzzle.

Charles Atkins, a Craig Brook Superintendent, received this oak roll-top desk in 1903 as a hand-me-down from the US Bureau of Fisheries in Washington, DC.  It had been used by every US Fish Commissioner since 1871.

While most of the salmon at Green Lake are in large concrete pools outside, the fish at Craig Brook are in isolated rooms in the basement.

Atlantic salmon’s Latin name is Salmo salar.  Salar means “The Leaper.”

You might notice the netting over the tanks.  One of these adult salmon can jump eight feet out of the water to clear a waterfall, or leap out of its tank.

We walked along the nature trail for a little while.  It’s a beautiful area but we prefer the less visited Green Lake hatchery.