Warm River Hatchery Apartment/Garage Building Decommissioning

Warm River Hatchery Apartment/Garage Building Decommissioning 

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This project proposes the decommission of the Apartment/Garage building at the Warm River Fish Hatchery. Both the Warm River Apartment and Garage building and the Warm River Hatchery building were identified as unutilized buildings on the Caribou-Targhee National Forest (CTNF), and as such they were recommended for decommissioning. To minimize the effects of this decommissioning recommendation, the Forest has determined to only remove the Apartment and Garage building.  

The Warm River Hatchery Apartment and Garage building is located at the Warm River Administrative Site within Section 10, T. 10N., R44E., approximately 17 miles northeast of Ashton, Idaho. The Warm River Apartment and Garage building was first determined as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and concurred upon by the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in 1990. This building (and the others at the Warm River Administrative site) are eligible under Criterion A for their association with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC’s) and the conservation work as an early example of cooperative State and Federal fisheries management. This building is also eligible under Criterion C for representing the architectural design and site planning principles of the Forest Service in the New Deal era. This site represents the only remaining example of its type built within the intermountain region.   

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The CTNF has determined that the action of removing the Warm River Apartment and Garage building would be considered an adverse effect per 36 CFR Part 800.5. The Forest has begun the consultation process with the Idaho SHPO, and they concur with that determination. Initially, the CTNF is proposing potential mitigation efforts to include the development of a preservation plan for the Warm River Hatchery building. This plan will include following the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the treatment of historic properties to complete preservation work on the Hatchery building to keep it from further deterioration. We also hope to explore further approaches to interpret the site and increase public benefit. 

Located on the Ashton-Island Park Ranger District, the Warm River fish hatchery has a long history in eastern Idaho. Warm River Spring, the source and namesake for the Warm River, is named for its elevated water temperature. This warmer water and other natural conditions provide for an ideal fish habitat. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game operated a fish hatchery at this location from 1908-1923. The original hatchery building, constructed near the turn of the century, was a 40’ x 80’ log structure. The Forest has no photographs of this original structure. 

The beginning of the Warm River Fish Hatchery can be traced to a verbal agreement between the Bureau of Fisheries (US Department of Interior) and the Targhee National Forest in March 1935. Actual plans for the hatchery were drawn up in 1938.  According to a letter dated April 8, 1938, from Mr. Fred Foster of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS):  “…the Bureau will assume full responsibility for the operation of the hatchery, and deliver to the Forest Service for planting in waters of the Targhee Forest all fish produced; The Forest Service assuming responsibility for receiving the fish at the hatchery and distributing them…” This site was somewhat central for distribution of fish to the streams in the upper Snake River drainage and it was accessible by the improved road from the Yellowstone Highway. 

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The current facility was constructed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) from the nearby Porcupine CCC Camp.  Construction began in the summer of 1938 and was completed by 1940. Three buildings were on the site, including a dwelling, a garage, and a hatchery building. All of these buildings were built according to blueprints approved for Region 4 of the Forest Service. The buildings were wood framed construction with false log siding. Foundations, including the full basement of the dwelling, were poured concrete. The original color scheme was white with green trim per Forest Service recommendations at the time. The roofs were shake. Sixteen concrete rearing ponds/raceways were placed on a terrace slightly below the hatchery building and garage. William Eichner, a former CCC enrollee at the Porcupine Camp, recalled (1990) that the CCC had also constructed the bridge (a heavy beam type) over Warm River. 

Operation of the hatchery began in the summer of 1940 and continued into the early years of World War II. In February 1943, the USFWS informed the Targhee National Forest Supervisor Mr. M.S. Benedict that they would not be operating the hatchery until further notice, citing the shortages of personnel and materials due to the War. In his reply, Supervisor Benedict suggested that they see if the State would have the capacity to operate the hatchery. His recommendation was acted upon and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game assumed operations there through the War. 

After the war, operations of the hatchery were resumed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until formally transferring the responsibility and control to the state in 1952. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game continued hatchery projects until they terminated operations at Warm River in 1973. In 1957, the footprint of the garage was doubled with an addition of another storage area on the north end of the building and an apartment on the south end of the building. The exterior of the additions was built to blend in with the existing exterior. In 1964, the hatchery site was withdrawn from public entry as a USFS administrative site. In 1974, the special use permit that allowed the hatchery to operate was formally withdrawn by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game when the buildings at the site reverted back to the Forest Service. 

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Since that time, the Forest has replaced the bridge that provides access to the site. It has also provided updated sanitation facilities and repaired the dwelling to be utilized in the cabin rental program.     

Currently, the large dwelling at this location is available to rent through the cabin rental program (https://www.recreation.gov). The cabin is open May 15 through March 31. It is accessible by vehicles from mid-May until the end of October. Snowmobiles, cross-country skis, and snowshoes are needed to access the cabin from early December through the end of March. 

If you would like to provide input on this proposed project, please send your comments to CONTACT US!