BRANSON MO NEWS: The fish hatchery is offering guided tours a bit earlier this year.Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery will have free guided tours of the fish hatchery at 10 a.m. March 13-17 and 20-24. The tours are about 40 minutes.Naturalist Leah Eden said Wednesday these tours are for everyone.
“The guided tours are going to give people a good general overview of what happens at the hatchery,” Eden said. “It’ll take you from egg collecting through the care and feeding and all the way to when we release the trout, which is about an 18-month process here at the hatchery.”Two kinds of trout are raised at the fish hatchery – brown and rainbow.“Most people do have an interest in learning where the fish come from because trout are not native to Missouri,” Eden said. “They were introduced a little over 100 years ago.
“When Table Rock Dam was built in the 1950s, it changed the conditions downstream from the dam. So Taneycomo went from a warm water area with bass and catfish to a cold water area that would then support the trout. But, because of fluctuating water levels, they’re not real successful at natural reproduction on the lake, so the hatchery was built to provide trout for Taneycomo after the building of Table Rock Dam.”If you miss the guided tour time, Eden said folks are welcomed to tour the grounds because there’s plenty to see besides fish. The Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery is home to several kinds of turtles and snakes – including a two-headed western rat snake – and hiking trails.The conservation center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 483 Hatchery Road in Branson. For information, call 417-334-4865 ext. 0.
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