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Idaho Power to Start Major Upgrade of Rapid River Hatchery by Brad Carlson Capital Press, October 29, 2025

The project will increase annual chinook production
from the current 3 million to 4 million juvenile salmon.

RIGGINS, Idaho -- The upcoming renovation of Rapid River Hatchery will allow annual chinook salmon production to increase by one-third.

Idaho Power owns and finances the hatchery, which the state Department of Fish and Game staffs and operates.

"This will be a total renovation of the hatchery that will provide the infrastructure necessary to spawn and raise fish using modern handling techniques," Idaho Power spokesman Brad Bowlin told Capital Press.

The project will increase annual chinook production from the current 3 million to 4 million -- which is included in Idaho Power's agreement with Idaho and Oregon and is part of the company's application for a new federal license to operate the Hells Canyon complex of three dams on the Snake River, he said.

"Although that new license is still pending, we are moving forward with these improvements as scheduled," Bowlin said.

Idaho Power recently completed a similar rebuild of Oxbow Hatchery in Hells Canyon.

At Rapid River Hatchery, construction activities will be timed to ensure Idaho Fish and Game can continue rearing fish at the hatchery while the upgrade is happening, Bowlin said.

Work on an access bridge and some early construction activity will begin in November, and major construction will start next year, he said. Completion is set for 2027.

Rapid River Hatchery is the largest collecting, spawning and rearing facility for spring chinook salmon in Idaho and has been rated one of the most successful hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest, Bowlin said.

This will be the first major renovation at the hatchery since it was built in 1964, he said.

Spring chinook salmon juveniles, or smolts, raised at Rapid River Hatchery are released into the Snake, Little Salmon and Rapid rivers.

Juvenile spring chinook salmon spend nearly two years at the hatchery. They grow to a length of four to six inches and then are released for their 45- to 60-day, 600-mile journey to the ocean. They return to Idaho as adults one to three years later, "where they contribute significantly to both sport and Native American fisheries," Bowlin said.

The Rapid River Hatchery redesign and construction project will provide more opportunities for anglers to harvest adult spring chinook salmon in the future, according to an Idaho Fish and Game news release.

Fish and Game permanently closed fishing on the hatchery's trout pond Oct. 24 due to the construction project. The pond is to be replaced by a new adult salmon holding and spawning facility.

Stocked trout allocated to the pond will be relocated to other waters at the discretion of the department's southwest regional fish manager, according to the release.

Related Pages:
Agencies Track Wild, Hatchery Fish in Columbia, Snake Rivers by Matthew Weaver, Capital Press, 9/12/24