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Utah wildlife officials report major hatchery gains for tiger muskie, walleye and hybrid striped bass
Summary
Division of Wildlife Resources director Riley Peck told the Utah Wildlife Board that DWR hatcheries produced and stocked unusually large numbers of tiger muskie, walleye and hybrid striped bass this season and celebrated new habitat and accessibility projects at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center.
Riley Peck, director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, told the Utah Wildlife Board on June 12 that DWR hatcheries had an unusually productive rearing season for several sport-fish species and that habitat work and accessibility projects were under way at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center.
Peck said the division incubated “750,000 tiger muskie eggs,” stocked more than 80,000 2‑inch tiger muskie and had another 12,000 fish ready to stock at 8 inches. He reported collection of “9,700,000 walleye eggs,” stocking more than 1,000,000 walleye into Willard Bay and other waters, and about 500,000 three‑inch sterile walleye available for additional stocking. For hybrid striped bass, using female striped bass and male white bass from Utah Lake, he reported “over a thousand 100,000 at our Wall Week facility and 400,000 at our hatchery in Springville.”
The board was also told the division’s aquatic research center had advanced rearing techniques for warm‑water species that staff described as unusually successful this year. “These numbers sound really, really large, and they should,” Peck said.
Peck also summarized habitat work and visitor improvements: restoration and spring projects to combat conifer encroachment, ongoing field seasons for habitat work and a new accessibility feature at the Eccles center — a Braille legacy trail — intended to broaden access to wildlife viewing. He noted ongoing field studies in collaboration with Brigham Young University, neonate elk and deer monitoring, and a bighorn sheep nursery project that this week released 25 bighorn sheep relocated from Nevada.
Board members and several public speakers praised the releases and volunteer involvement; Sportsmen & Fish Wildlife representative Troy Justerson thanked the division for allowing volunteers to participate in field work and nursery releases. Peck emphasized the role of partners and said the nursery facility expands future restoration options.
Board action: none. This was an informational divisional update.
