Trout hatchery ‘a place of community’

Facility stands out for location, educational component

Environmental educator Jamie Austin, right, leads a group of Crestline Elementary first graders on a tour May 19 at the Columbia Springs Vancouver Trout Hatchery. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Crestline Elementary first graders Olivia Eck, left, and Ben Riley feed fish May 19 during a field trip at the Columbia Springs Vancouver Trout Hatchery. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Adult rainbow trout swim around a holding pond May 19 at the Columbia Springs Vancouver Trout Hatchery. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Crestline first graders Isaias Ramos, from left, Preslie Miller and Ellie Scharer search for bugs as part of a scavenger hunt May 19 during a field trip at the Columbia Springs Vancouver Trout Hatchery. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Crestline Elementary first graders look at fish in a holding pond May 19 during a field trip to the Columbia Springs Vancouver Trout Hatchery.

Trout swim around a raceway May 19, at the Columbia Springs Vancouver Trout Hatchery. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Vancouver Trout Hatchery visitors can wander freely among ponds and pathways, stop to chat with staff members tending fish or watch trout grow in the water below.

The hatchery, which lies just east of Interstate 205 and south of state Highway 14, has evolved into more than a fish-rearing facility. It’s a community gathering place where families spend weekends, neighbors walk their dogs and regular visitors form connections with the fish raised there.

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