Friends of the Upper Mississippi

I would like to express my sincere thanks for your assistance in putting together a fantastic 2003 Kids Ice Fishing Day at the hatchery February 4th!  There was 529 attendees at the event, with 39 volunteers and staff assisting, giving us a total of 568 people on or around the ice!

Needless to say, it could not have happened with all our your participation and efforts.  Thank you so much for your continued help in reaching out to our community to spread the message that outdoor activities involving our fish and wildlife resources are of great value, multi-generational, and deserve to be passed on for future generations to enjoy and protect.  Thank you for your foresight to be the current generation of conservation stewards, and your help in growing the next one.

All the best, 

Doug Aloisi                           

Hatchery Manager

Genoa National Fish Hatchery

We are very excited to be back on the ice for our Kids Ice Fishing Day event coming up on Saturday, February 4, 2023 from 8:30am – 12:00pm! We will start the day with a safety lesson and then kids will get the opportunity to ice fish for rainbow trout on Pond 11. A light lunch will also be provided. New this year, participants can try their hand at snowshoeing! Volunteers will be onsite to talk to folks about local winter recreational opportunities and we will have snowshoes for folks to try out. As always, safety comes first. This event is weather and ice condition dependent, so please follow us on Facebook for updates! The snowshoes are also available to visitors to use when the Interpretive Center is open. If you are interested in snowshoeing our trails, please check them out at the front desk. While out snowshoeing, be sure to keep an eye out for animal tracks and try to identify what animals are living in our riparian wetlands and floodplain forest! By: Erica Rasmussen

At the end of last year’s growing season, juvenile Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly larvae that had been cultured at the Hatchery all season were packed up and transported to an overwintering facility at the University of South Dakota. At the same time, a new cohort of dragonflies -still in the egg stage- were delivered to the Hatchery from USD.

Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly eggs overwintering at stable temperatures in an environmental chamber. The temperature is tracked by a data logger kept in a similar cup as the eggs, and a twice-daily quick check is made with the thermometer visible in the photo. Photo: USFWS.

Eggs are collected by research partners (USD and others) in the mid to late summer, when females are carrying fertilized eggs and are ovipositing- laying their eggs- in the marshy areas of spring-fed wetlands, wet meadows and fen habitats that this species prefers. The eggs are kept in individual clutches, allowed to harden, counted, and as the fall progresses into winter, chilled from warm summer temperatures to cold winter holding temperatures, approx. 3-4 °C. Over the winter, the groups of eggs are divided, packaged for transport, and delivered to the partner agencies -including Genoa NFH- that continue to over winter the eggs and then culture new juveniles in the spring. The eggs are transported in coolers with cool/cold packs to keep them from warming up and are quickly transferred to a stable temperature environmental chamber at the Hatchery. They’ll be kept at a stable 3-4 °C through the winter, then slowly warmed a few degrees per week in late March and April.
Genoa NFH has been working with Hine’s Emeralds since 2013, and in 2016 eggs were housed and the resulting new larvae reared on station each year. These previous cohorts of eggs have all been collected from females in a (relatively) large breeding population in Northern Wisconsin, but this new cohort consists of eggs collected from females in a smaller and more critically endangered population in Illinois along the Des Plaines River. The population augmentation or reintroduction of individuals that (hopefully!) will result from these hatchery reared animals is a key part of the recovery of Hine’s Emeralds, especially in the critical Des Plaines River population.
By: Beth Glidewell

A close up view of dragonfly eggs overwintering. Photo: USFWS.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2023  

8:30 AM – 12 PM

Genoa National Fish Hatchery and Great River Road Interpretive Center

Join hatchery staff, the Midwest Fisheries Center, and Friends of the Upper Mississippi for our popular Kids Ice Fishing Day! This event is for children ages 5-12, accompanied by a parent or guardian. New this year, participants can try their hand at snowshoeing! Volunteers will be onsite to talk to folks about winter recreational opportunities and will have snowshoes for folks to try out.

Event schedule:
8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Registration, children must be registered to fish
9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Ice Safety and Ice Fishing Tips
9:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Open Fishing for Kids
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Snowshoe Demo

Fishing poles, bait, and tackle will be provided by the hatchery, Midwest Fisheries Center, and Friends of the Upper Mississippi. A warming tent will be onsite and a light lunch will be provided for participants, courtesy of Friends of the Upper Mississippi.

Due to limited space and biosecurity concerns, no outside ice fishing tents or bait will be permitted.
In order to provide ample time for kids to get equipment and catch their fish, children must be registered no later than 11:00 a.m.

This event is weather and ice condition dependent. We will announce the cancellation or postponement of the event here on the Facebook event page, broadcast it on 97.1 FM WCOW, and will post signs at the hatchery. This event will be held at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, S5631 State Highway 35, Genoa, WI, on the east side of the highway at Pond 11. Traveling 3 miles south of Genoa, WI, drive past the office sign on the right and take a left by the rearing buildings on the east side of Highway 35. Follow the signs and please park in the designated areas.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2023 AT 8:30 AM – 12 PM

As hustle and bustle from school groups visiting during the spring, summer and fall are winding down, it is a great time for reflection on how our education and outreach programs are going and how to make improvements for next year. We had a great year with over 30 different schools visiting the Genoa National Fish Hatchery. I was also able to attend 25 different community outreach programs set up by partners in the surrounding areas. This allowed me to share Genoa’s mission to recover threatened and endangered aquatic species, restore threatened fish populations, provide fishery resources support to National Wildlife Refuges, Native American tribes, and to provide sport fish to increase recreational opportunities on public lands to 6,870 people! With most of the COVID restrictions now lifted and the Highway 35 road construction completed, we are excited to see even more visitors next year as they travel down the Great River Road. I am still looking to reach more schools during the winter months and let them know that Hatchery’s never shut down and we are developing a winter program. We already have Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout and Lake Trout eggs being cared for. It is also a great time to enjoy a winter hike and or to work on your animal track identification in the snow. We are also looking forward to having the community join us for our annual Kids Ice Fishing Event that will take place in February. Please follow us on Facebook for more details and date of the event. www.facebook.com/GenoaNFH. By: Erica Rasmussen

Kids Ice Fishing Event at Genoa NFH.