CHEYENNE — During their March 18-19 meeting, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission voted to approve a recommendation from Game and Fish to fund the Dan Speas Warm and Cool Water Facility expansion project in the Casper Region.
Game and Fish Fisheries Division Chief Alan Osterland said that while the main objective of the project is to establish a dedicated facility in Wyoming for producing warm and cool water fish species and reduce reliance on out-of-state sources like Arkansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota. However, construction would also serve an important secondary purpose in helping mitigate the introduction of aquatic invasive species from other states.
Annually, nearly 1.5 million fish and up to 11 species of warm/cool water fish are brought from out-of-state facilities in Arkansas (Black Crappie, Channel Catfish), Nebraska (Sauger, Tiger Muskie), North Dakota (Northern Pike, Walleye), and Oklahoma (Bluegill).
Osterland said that while each shipment of imported game fish is carefully inspected and culled for any invasive species, a local hatchery would further mitigate this risk. He noted that as AIS are being discovered in a growing number of states importing fish to Wyoming, the risk of importing game fish into the state increases.
“Every year that we are able to prevent AIS from making it to our waterways, I think we are further ahead as far as the science is evolving and capabilities are evolving,” Osterland said. “The longer we are able to prevent this happening, the more likely that if we do get it, the resources are there.”
Additionally, the facility would provide waterways with game fish that would continue to establish Wyoming as a premiere location for anglers.
The state-of-the-art facility will include dark and light production rooms, isolation rooms, and advanced water conditioning systems. These facilities would include production for the following fish species:
- Walleye: 1.28 million/year
- Crappie: 100,000/year
- Bluegill: 60,000/year
- Largemouth Bass: 36,000/year
- Tiger Muskie: 10,000/year
Sletten Construction of Wyoming will be awarded the project after submitting the lowest bid at $20,893,951 which is inline with the engineer estimate.
Commission President Rusty Bell said that ultimately, the hatchery is an essential component of both AIS mitigation and angling opportunities in the state.
"This is bigger than just AIS,” Bell said. “It’s about stocking what we want to stock in our fisheries and about getting kids and families out to fish. This is never going to cost less than right now, probably will be exponentially more expensive if we wait."
Following the approval from the Commission, construction is expected to begin in September 2026, with completion slated for October 2027. First walleye production is expected to begin in April 2028.
—WGFD—
