FAIRPORT, Iowa — Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery will host its 2nd Annual Earth Day Celebration with an unveiling of new interpretive trail signs, presentations, and Earth Day activities at the historic hatchery.
The Earth Day Celebration will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the hatchery at 3390 Highway 22 in Fairport in Muscatine County.
Twelve new four-foot by three-foot sign panels planned for the hatchery’s future Education Pavilion give visitors a deeper dive into the history, operations, and freshwater mussel science behind this 116-year-old research facility. The U.S. Federal Biological Station at Fairport was established by an act of Congress in 1908 to research freshwater mussels and fish in their Mississippi River habitat.
The Earth Day Celebration is an opportunity for visitors to walk the historic interpretive trails, explore the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Mobile Fish Aquarium, and learn about a variety of conservation-centered organizations from around the area. A variety of speakers will present a special program beginning at 10:30 a.m.. Speakers are: Sandy Stevens, FFFH Projects/Future Goals; Andy Fowler, fisheries biologist, Iowa DNR; Heather Gibb, Iowa State Historic Preservation Office/National Register of Historic Places; Gus Elliott, conservation education specialist, Iowa DNR; Jeremiah Haas, EXELON Mussels/Fish and Water Conservation, The program will conclude with an unveiling of the new educational panels.
Visitors are welcome to explore the historic Fairport Biological Station, walk where the most prominent fisheries biologists from the early 20th century lived and worked, and learn about the historical cottages and the inner workings of the most advanced research facility of its time.
This family-friendly event features booths from many participating environmental organizations: Iowa DNR, National Pearl Button Museum, Muscatine Pollinator Project, University of Iowa, USFWS-Lake Odessa, Muscatine County Historic Preservation Commission, Muscatine County Energy District, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mississippi River Project.
A comprehensive Educational Trail System opened last year featuring 18 interpretive signs designed to tell the story of this important conservation and commerce research center. The United States’ leading fisheries biologists, researchers, scientists, and ‘shell experts’ lived and worked at the station for nearly 25 years in the early 1900s. The station was set up for freshwater mussel research and propagation, which was of economic importance to the region at the time.
Today, the Fairport Fish Hatchery is a warm-water extensive culture station used to hatch and raise warm-water angling favorites for stocking in streams, lakes, and reservoirs throughout Iowa and Western Illinois. The hatchery is owned and operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Freshwater mussel propagation and research is again being conducted at the Fairport Fish Hatchery in cooperation with Mr. Haas, EXELON Mussels/Fish and Water Conservation at Constellation Energy, Quad Cities Generating Station.
“Our goal is to raise awareness and educate people about the history of the Fairport Biological Station, later renamed the Fairport Fish Hatchery”, said Sandy Stevens, president of the Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery.
A $47,400 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Conservation Education Program grant funded the historic interpretive trail system throughout the 60-acre hatchery site. 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 and 18 stops feature interpretive signs about each historic site, many of which include QR Codes directing visitors online to more in-depth video content. The grant will also fund educational signs, artifact display cases and an historic timeline for the educational pavilion.
This year, Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery plan to complete an Educational Pavilion paying tribute to the biological station’s history. Bricks and stones from the pumphouse will be used in its construction. The concrete foundation is in place, but fundraising continues for the project. Bricks and stones from the historic pumphouse – built in 1910 but demolished in 2021 – will be used in the construction of the Educational Pavilion. The design will reflect the architectural style and materials of the original pumphouse.
Friends of Fairport Fish Hatchery (FFFH) was established in November 2020 as a 501(c)(3) organization to share the stories of the Historic Fairport Biological Station. The FFFH’s goals are to preserve historic resources at the Fairport Fish Hatchery, support its historical and scientific research, and educate students and the public about conservation efforts (both past and present) to protect mussels and fish from impacts due to pollution, siltation, and overfishing.
The FFFH leadership team includes: Sandy Stevens, Paul Carroll, Lynn Pruitt, and Jim Elias. Since its inception, the Friends have partnered closely with the Iowa DNR staff (Andy Fowler, Melanie Harkness, Adam Thiese, Randy Schultz) to expand capacity for public outreach and education.
