FAIRPORT, Iowa – The Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery are joining with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) hatchery staff to celebrate Earth Day with the grand opening of its new Interpretive Trail System.
The event is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, April 22, near the Fairport Fish Hatchery, located at 3390 Iowa Highway 22.
It will also feature Earth Day activities and education and information displays designed to bring to light the untold history and legacy of the hatchery that has been on the banks of the Mississippi River for more than 100 years.
The hatchery was created by an act of Congress in 1908 to establish the U.S. Federal Biological Station at Fairport to research freshwater mussels and fish in their Mississippi River habitat. The
Iowa DNR and its REAP (Resource, Enhancement and Protection) program and Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery are working together to share that story on Earth Day.
The ceremony will take place 15 miles west of Interstate 74, downriver along Highway 22, and eight miles east of downtown Muscatine, upriver along Highway 22, the Friends group said in a news release. The event will be held rain or shine and indoor activities are planned in the LACMERS Building.
There also will be a Food Truck Emporium on site. Local and regional environmental organizations will have displays and activities all day for visitors for learning and fun.
The historic interpretive trail system throughout the 60-acre Fairport Hatchery is open for the public to explore. The North Trail tells the story of the living quarters where staff lived. The South Trail highlights the Fairport Hatchery operational facilities both past and present.
Eighteen stops along the trail feature interpretive signs about each site and many include QR Codes directing visitors to more in-depth video content.
The trail was funded in part by a $47,400 Iowa DNR REAP conservation grant. The project also was one of 25 projects nationwide to be awarded a $2,000 grant by the Toyota Corporation and the National Scenic By-Way Foundation. It fueled a cleanup that featured 100 volunteers. The trail also benefited from a United Way Day of Caring when volunteers worked to clear trails, remove an old pedestrian bridge and install posts for interpretive signage.
The new trail allows visitors to walk where the most prominent fisheries that biologists from the early 20th century lived and worked, the news release said. While there, they can hike the trails and explore the historic cottages and the inner workings of the most advanced research facility of its time.
Participating organizations for the event include: the Friends and the Iowa DNR, Muscatine County Conservation Board, National Pearl Button Museum, Muscatine Pollinator Project, University of Iowa, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service of Lake Odessa, Louisa County Conservation Board, Iowa State University, Nahant March and EICC and Muscatine County Energy District.
