Biennial Report of the State Conservation Commission of Wisconsin 1931-1932-Fishway and Town Hatchery
Click on the link below to review excerpts from the Biennial Report of the State Conservation Commission of Wisconsin 1931-1932. This document is part of a set from the State Conservation Commission of Wisconsin that reveals much about the robust conservation activities around Rest Lake from 1919-until WWII.
The creation of the first effective fishway in the state became a prototype for other dams. Fishways allow for fish downstream to travel over the dam to the lake above to help spawning. A two-year spring census of fish captured in the fishway for 1931 and '32 is noted.
During the Great Depression, the Conservation Commission realized its financial limitations and authorized the creation of municipal fish hatcheries. The fish hatchery below the Rest Lake Dam was identified as part of both Spider Lake in 1932 and Rest Lake in 1936 on state conservation maps.
A paragraph on railroads continued their tradition of moving fish for stocking that dates back to 1903 in the Manitowish area.
The image below illustrates both the fish hatchery (yellow) and fishway (red) below the Rest Lake Dam.