A Niagara County group sees a big opportunity for a seldom-used park.

A fish hatchery which would release lake trout and other fish into the Niagara River and Lake Ontario could be a perfect fit for the Town of Lewiston’s Joseph Davis State Park, said Bill Hilts Jr., a member of the county’s Fisheries Development Board and the county’s sportsfishing coordinator.

Building a fishery would be expensive and require technical support and money from public and private groups, Hilts said. But it could also be a significant boost to the area’s already healthy fishing industry, be a tourism magnet and fix current difficulties with stocking the lake.

“The whole idea is not just a fish hatchery, but a tourist attraction, an educational facility and a state-of-the-art research facility,” Hilts said. “That’s our pipe dream. That’s what we would love to see.”

A void to fill

The fisheries board has been discussing the idea for several years, and recent developments have given the idea momentum.

n Two years ago, the fish hatchery in Warren, Pa., had a disease problem which forced them to destroy all of their fish. That fishery supplied all of the lake trout to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, about 160,000 and 500,000 fish, respectively. It is still not open, and since then the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been transporting lake trout from Vermont to the Great Lakes, a costly option which is stressful for the fish.

n The only fish hatchery on Lake Ontario, the Salmon River Fish Hatchery in Altmar announced recently that they haven’t been able to collect as many salmon eggs as they’d like to stock the river next year. Their remedy? The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which owns Salmon River, sent teams to the Town of Newfane’s Eighteen Mile Creek where salmon are in ready supply to collect eggs.

“There’s a lot of stakeholders involved with Lake Ontario sport fishing who are worried about what could happen with the one fishery, having all our eggs in one basket, literally,” he said. “If there’s a disease problem, you stand to lose everything.”

The county fisheries board has commissioned a study, obtained through a grant from CWM Chemical Services, on whether Joseph Davis Park or any other sites in Western New York make sense for a fishery. The study is about half-done, and though the operation could cost anywhere from $10 to $20 million, early indications are that a fishery could work at the park, said Frank Campbell, chairman of the fisheries board and also a member of the Niagara River Anglers Association board.

Finding funding

The biggest obstacle is money. A similar operation was just constructed on Lake Michigan for $11 million, Campbell said. Ideas include applying for Niagara River Greenway money available from the New York Power Authority relicensing settlement and convincing US Fish and Wildlife to take the lead role in establishing a fishery.

Kofi Fynn-Aikins, chief of the Lower Great Lakes Fisheries Office for US Fish and Wildlife, said the latter idea is possible but not at all imminent.

“From my standpoint, I’m interested here,” he said. “The Vermont option (currently being used) is not our best one, and I think my superiors will be interested in that it will continue to put fish into the Great Lakes from a better site.”

However, there are complications. For now, the agency appears to be focusing on restoring the Warren, Pa. fishery.

“This is a nice idea, but whether it’s going to happen or not I’m not exactly sure,” Fynn-Atkins said. “They have to come up with the money, and it’s a lot of money.”

The DEC has thus far not sounded excited about the idea, Campbell said.

“Funding is definitely a concern,” Hilts said.

Imagining the possibilities

Despite the complications, boosters of the local fish hatchery are allowing themselves to dream. The Salmon River hatchery, which is about 30 miles north of Syracuse and far from any other attractions, brings in thousands of people per year, Hilts said.

The educational facility could partner with like-minded programs at Buffalo State College and high schools, and local fishing would benefit from more fish.

“We would certainly make it so that people could learn more about the biology of the fish and create a better awareness for the natural resources that we have here,” Hilts said. “Everybody knows about Niagara Falls, but not everybody’s heard about the tremendous sport fishery we have in Lake Erie, the Niagara River and Lake Ontario.”

The research center could study abnormalities in fish that currently have to be sent across the country, and gathering data on the exotic species brought by the ballasts of ships, Campbell said. The fishery’s main purpose will be to breed fish and then release them in to the river.

Reviving the park

The most serious benefit in the effort would be to revive a park which is seldom-used with the exception of a 27-hole Frisbee golf course. Its 388 acres borders Lower River Road and the Robert Moses Parkway, with a small area with access to the Niagara River.

Failed plans for the park include an 18-hole golf course, Olympic-sized swimming pools which were built but rarely used and a $4 million birds of prey center.

“There have been so many plans for Joe Davis, and we want to get it utilized,” said Village of Lewiston Mayor Richard Soluri. “(The village board) thinks the fish hatchery is a great idea.”

But like others, Soluri said he needs to see the results of studies and more discussions to see if the project is worthy of total support.

“We’re in-tune with the idea,” he said. “I just don’t know enough about it yet.”