The White River National Fish Hatchery is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coldwater fish production facility located near Bethel, Vermont

Bethel, Vermont

Bethel is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,968 at the 2000 census. The town includes the locations of Bethel-Gilead, East Bethel, Lilliesville, Lympus , and West Bethel...

. Hatchery staff works to support both the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program (since 1978) and the Lower Great Lakes Lake Trout Restoration Program. The Whire River National Fish Hatchery is one of four offices in the Western New England Complex.

Western New England Complex

The four offices of the Western New England Complex—Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, Dwight D. Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery, White River National Fish Hatchery and Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Resource Complex—work in concert to produce and manage fishery resources for restoration efforts in the Connecticut River

Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

 and Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...

. In addition, habitat conservation and restoration efforts are enacted throughout the four primary watersheds of Western New England to support fish and wildlife resources. This integrated approach to species and habitat management helps promote their goal of ecosystem conservation and restoration while providing recreational opportunities for the public.

Mission

The mission of the hatchery is to produce and release over 5 million Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon

The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....

 fry in tributaries throughout the Connecticut River watershed. The hatchery also supplies over 660,000 Lake trout yearlings for stocking Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

 and Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

.