44 Nebraskaland • November 2024
Rock Creek
Hatchery
100 years of trout
producƟ on
nce regarded as the most
popular of all game fi sh, the
rainbow trout still has a big
presence in Nebraska waters.
In the early 1900s, trout were not only
a staple food source for many but also
an esteemed sport fi sh for anglers.
Because of this popularity, ideas began
to form at the Nebraska Bureau of Fish
and Game, now the Nebraska Game
and Parks Commission, about growing
rainbow trout.
Then, in 1924, the Bureau purchased
20 acres of land north of Parks for
a new hatchery for $4,500. Fed by
Rock Creek, a series of the largest
and coldest springs in Nebraska, the
Bureau planned for this new hatchery
to supply the entire state with trout.
It was a lofty goal that quickly
gathered steam.
The Beginnings
H.P. Runion was a rancher and
owner of a hatchery at Benkelman
until it was purchased by the Bureau
in 1919. Runion raised many fi sh at the
Benkelman hatchery and sold them to
the state. But he thought more could
be done and done better. Years before,
around 1911, Runion began a nursery
pond experiment at Rock Creek back
when the crystal-clear waters of Rock
Creek served as a watering area for
thirsty cattle.
Runion found out the water and
vegetation at Rock Creek were ideal for
newly hatched trout fry and that they
thrived and grew rapidly in the clear,
cool, fl owing waters at Rock Creek.
Coming from the notion of rearing trout
and other fi sh to a fi ngerling size before
releasing them into wild waters, giving
them a better chance of survival, these
O
By Julie Geiser
Rock Creek Hatchery was the third state hatchery in Nebraska after the Gretna
and Valentine hatcheries. TIM REIGERT, NEBRASKALAND
Parks
Benkelman
Rock Creek
State Fish
Hatchery
Valentine
Fish Hatchery
Gretna
Fish Hatchery
