First Hy Rosen Lake Ecology Education Progra
On the perfect weather morning of August 16, families with children from tots to teens arrived at the fish hatchery for the first of several events offered by The Hy Rosen Lake Ecology Education Program. Founded by the Friends of Lake Garfield, the program aims at teaching people of all ages about the relationship between living organisms and their physical environment.
Our Berkshire Fish Hatchery on Hatchery Road in New Marlborough is one of only seventy such hatcheries in the entire country. It supports the restoration of lake trout populations by supplying lake trout eggs to other federal hatcheries. Established along the Konkapot River in the late 1800s by Dr. Samuel Camp, and situated on 148 acres of forested land, hatchery staff also raises native brook trout for stocking of local waterways, which provides for fishing opportunities in our area. With declining fish populations, fish hatcheries are more important than ever.
On our tour, our expert guide Joe took us into a room where the water temperature in the containers remained constant at forty-five degrees, the perfect condition for the thousands of tiny eggs we observed in the process of hatching. Next, under tents outside, Joe showed us where the adult lake trout continue to produce eggs in a controlled environment. And finally, we walked to where the larger fish swam freely, and where we were given an opportunity to feed them.
My heartfelt gratitude to Michael Germain, and to Greg Carnese, Steve Snyder, Dennis Lynch and the Friends of Lake Garfield for establishing this extraordinary program of learning to honor my husband Hy, whose devotion to the upkeep of his beloved Lake Garfield was never ending, and who was rarely seen without a fishing pole in his hand. —Myrna Rosen
Letter of Appreciation
Hy Rosen Ecology Fund
We brought our three grandchildren to the first of the Hy Rosen Ecology Fund programs. Perhaps a dozen or more folks attended. Joe, the Berkshire National Fish Hatchery’s fish biologist, lead us through the facility there, beginning with the flow tank holding perhaps 10,000 eggs and just hatched rainbow trout. From there we were shown the holding tanks for hundreds of mature lake trout at different ages. These fish, beginning at around ages four or five, have their eggs removed, which are then shipped off to another hatchery. Once the adults are around twelve years old, they are trucked to various bodies of water for sport and restoration purposes.
Lastly, we went down to one of the holding areas from the earliest days of the hatchery where they put fish that aren’t being sent away. Joe said, “They’re our pet fish, a mix of rainbow and lake Fish Hatchery guide Joe, two event attendees, and children l to r: Emmett (8), Nara (10), Odin (5); and Wendy Jenson. trout, and everyone took turns tossing feed pellets to the eager fish.
It was a very informative couple of hours. One friend remarked that having lived in Monterey for forty years this was their first time up there. For more information about the hatchery, and the hours it is open for visitors, search “Berkshire National Fish Hatchery.”
We would like to thank Mike Germain for putting the program together and helping Myrna Rosen with establishing the fund in her husband Hy’s name. Mike indicated they hope to have another program next summer. —Wendy Jensen and Stephen Moore