Ten Sleep students visit Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery

By Tracie Mitchell

Staff Writer

TEN SLEEP – The best way to understand about something you learned in a book is to see what you are learning about first hand. Ten Sleep School fourth and fifth graders were given that chance at the end of their study of the life cycle of fish by visiting the Wyoming Game and Fish Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery Tuesday morning and watching the process unfold in front of them.

Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery fish culturist Greg Lehr began the field trip by bringing the students into the room where the spawning occurs. Hatchery employees were gently catching, milking and fertilizing Yellowstone cutthroat fish. Lehr explained that the fish are mildly anaesthetized with clove oil to make the process as easy on the fish as possible.

The students watched the fish being milked for eggs and milk and fertilized. The also witnessed the fertilized eggs being distributed to different coolers to be shared with other Wyoming Game and Fish hatcheries across the state.

Next stop was the incubation room where fertilized eggs are counted and allowed to grow. Lehr showed the students the eggs as they were in the different stages of forming and pointed out the "eyes" in the eggs for the students.

After looking at the fertilized and forming eggs the students were able to enjoy seeing the fish in their different stages of growth, from newly hatched to about 6 inches in length. While looking at the different sized fish and different species the students learned that some fish prefer to eat off of the bottom and others prefer to feed off the top of the water.

Lehr also explained to the students that the different hatcheries traded cold water fish, such as trout and warm water fish such as bass, so that all areas had a good supply of the different fish species.

Worland West Side Elementary School fourth graders visited the Ten Sleep Fish Hatchery at the end of their study on the life cycle of fish last week.