Coal transition: Raising fish and a workforce with an economic development grant

Rachel McDevitt

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I report on energy and the environment for StateImpact Pennsylvania at WITF.

My work focuses on responses and solutions to climate change in the state legislature and communities around the state. I trace my interest in these issues back to my time as a Girl Scout and this episode of Rocko’s Modern Life.

I look forward to winter just for the chance to ski a few times each season. I try to keep myself from doom-scrolling on my phone by keeping my hands busy knitting and learning to play the piano.

I grew up in Cambria County, Pa. and graduated from Temple University. I started at WITF just after Christmas in 2014.

Rainbow trout swim in a tank at Onalaska High School in Onalaska, Washington on March 5, 2024. (Jeremy Long - WITF)

April 10, 2024 | 5:00 AM

About a half an hour from Centralia, at Onalaska High School, Kevin Hoffman teaches career and technical education courses, like wood shop, metal work, and aquaculture.

Hoffman applied for and got two TransAlta grants totaling $65,000 to upgrade the school’s fish hatchery program to one that rivals commercial operations. That money was among $2 million that has gone to develop educational programs.

Kevin Hoffman, career and technical education teacher at Onalaska High School in Onalaska, Washington, feeds fish at Carlisle Lake as part of the school’s aquaculture program on March 5, 2024. He was able to dramatically grow the program with help from two TransAlta grants. (Jeremy Long – WITF)

When he started at the school, the program was raising about 1,000 pounds of fish. Now it’s up to about 7,000 pounds each year.

Students do everything from feeding fish to constructing the new hatchery. Hoffman said students have to make careful measurements and problem-solve.

The students’ work has made a big impact on the local lake. They release up to 10,000 rainbow trout that can be caught and taken home. About 600 of those are between 6 and 8 pounds, making for an exciting opening day of fishing season. Hoffman said he’s seen people that come from Seattle and Portland–each a two-hour drive away. Some people come from even farther.

: The hatchery at Onalaska High School in Onalaska, Washington on March 5, 2024. (Jeremy Long – WITF)

: The grants from TransAlta allowed the hatchery program to buy a generator, which is critical to the fishes’ survival in case of a power outage. It’s seen here at Onalaska High School in Onalaska, Washington on March 5, 2024. (Jeremy Long – WITF)

: Salmon and trout raised at the Onalaska High School hatchery are transferred to nets at Carlisle Lake, seen here on March 5, 2024. (Jeremy Long – WITF)

: Onalaska High School in Onalaska, Washington on March 5, 2024. (Jeremy Long – WITF)

It’s important to Hoffman that the program gives back to the community.

Even though very few of his students leave school for a career in fisheries, Hoffman said they are gaining skills that would be valuable to any employer.