Coleman National Fish Hatchery

In 1942, the Coleman National Fish Hatchery (Coleman NFH) was established under an act of the U.S. Congress to mitigate the loss of historic spawning habitat caused by the construction of dams. The fish hatchery is located in Shasta County, California, near the town of Anderson on the north bank of Battle Creek approximately 6 river miles (9.7 km) east of the Sacramento River. Coleman NFH covers approximately 75 acres (300,000 m2) of land owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), with an additional 63 acres (250,000 m2) of land in perpetual easements for pipelines and access. It is the largest salmon hatchery in the continental United States.

Before the construction of the Shasta and Keswick Dams, Chinook Salmon and steelhead were free to migrate to the upper reaches of the Sacramento, Pit and McCloud Rivers to spawn. Chinook salmon and steelhead returning from the ocean, travel up the Sacramento River and Battle Creek where they are enticed by water flow into the hatchery. Eggs are collected, fertilized and incubated artificially until they hatch. The young fish are then raised in ponds at the hatchery until they are sufficient size to be released and return to the ocean. Long term production goals for Coleman NFH Complex are as follows: 12,000,000 fall Chinook salmon, 1,200,000 late-fall Chinook salmon, 250,000 winter Chinook salmon, and 600,000 steelhead annually. Winter Chinook salmon are reared at the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery, a sub-station of Coleman NFH, located at the base of Shasta Dam.