The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ (MDNR) Platte River State Fish Hatchery is considered the birthplace of the upper Great Lakes salmon program, where successful pacific salmon stocking began in 1966. Returning mature Coho Salmon the following years prompted construction of a large scale coldwater fish production facility on the Upper Platte River, where only a satellite trout rearing facility previously existed. Construction of this facility was completed by 1973, and salmon production in the form of both Coho and Chinook Salmon ramped up to meet the demands of anglers and fisheries managers alike. However, with the increased feeding and production, came increased effluent waste loading to the watershed and by the mid 1970’s peak effluent loading reached 4,321 pounds of phosphorus annually. This phosphorus was carried downstream to Big Platte Lake, where algal blooms began to negatively impact water quality.
After lengthy court battles between the Platte Lake Improvement Association (PLIA) and the MDNR, in 2000, both parties agreed to a Consent Judgement that outlined changes required by law to limit hatchery effluent to only 175 pounds of phosphorus annually among other operational restrictions . To meet this new stringent and protective effluent waste level, the MDNR had two options; 1.) r educe production to pre-salmon levels at the relatively newly constructed facility, or 2.) invest in engineering and technology, and renovate the facility so it could meet these limits without reducing production levels. The MDNR chose the former option and by 2012 had renovated the Platte River State Fish Hatchery to be one of the most state-of-the-art flow- through coldwater production facilities in the world with respect to effluent management. This focus on effluent management and an eventual partnership between t he MDNR and PLIA truly make this a success story you will not want to miss.