The Long Way
Jefferson County
A paved road runs along a river next to a large rock dam.
Plate I. Round Butte Dam and Round Butte Hatchery. From coinformedangler.org
People working at a row of fish tanks indoors.
Plate II. Fish marking, Round Butte Hatchery. From coinformedangler.org
Water trickles down a steep, green-covered rock wall next to a paved path.
Plate III. Spring water wall, Round Butte Hatchery. From coinformedangler.org
A large rock-fill dam with industrial structures in front under a cloudy sky.
Plate IV. Rearing ponds at Round Butte Hatchery. From coinformedangler.org
An outdoor fish hatchery with long raceways and a rocky hillside in the background.
Plate V. Fish rearing raceways, Round Butte Hatchery. From coinformedangler.org
A large group of small fish swim inside a concrete and wooden tank.
Plate VI. Juvenile fish tank, Round Butte Hatchery. From coinformedangler.org
An interior view of a room featuring long tanks with mesh covers, a bucket, and windows showing a rocky landscape outside.
Plate VII. Indoor tanks, Round Butte Hatchery. From coinformedangler.org

Round Butte Hatchery

Madras, Jefferson County, Oregon. Fish hatchery; All year.

Details

Map. Madras, Jefferson County, Oregon. Larger map
Where
6825 SW Belmont Lane, Madras, OR 97741. Directions
When
May - September for spring Chinook collection and holding. Late August - early September for spring Chinook spawning. Late January - early March for summer steelhead spawning.
Getting there
The hatchery is located 7 miles west of Madras at the end of Belmont Lane on PGE property. The hatchery is located at the base of Round Butte Dam.
Access
Public access is available by advance arrangement only. Please call ahead.
Walk-in or reserve
Public access is available by advance arrangement only. Please call ahead.
Phone
541-325-5327
Website
myodfw.com
Managed by
Round Butte Hatchery is owned by Portland General Electric and is operated and managed by ODFW.
Established
1972.

Spring Chinook, summer steelhead, and sockeye salmon mitigation hatchery built in 1972 to compensate for the Pelton/Round Butte Hydroelectric Complex; adult collection, egg incubation, and rearing on PGE land at the base of Round Butte Dam.

Notable Events

  1. 1959PGE and the Warm Springs tribes agreed to a combined compensation package for the Pelton/Round Butte complex of $220,000 per year. oregonhistoryproject.org
  2. 1960The Federal Power Commission amended PGE's license to operate the Pelton Dam project to include the Round Butte Dam, giving the entire Pelton/Round Butte complex a fifty-year operating permit. oregonhistoryproject.org
  3. 1965An Oregon Journal article announcing the dedication of the $62 million dam on the Deschutes was published June 11, 1965. oregonhistoryproject.org
  4. 1968The dams' fish ladders and juvenile collection facilities never worked well; the Oregon Fish Commission voted to abandon them and build a new hatchery to mitigate the impacts of the dams. nwcouncil.org
  5. 1972Round Butte Hatchery was constructed in 1972 to mitigate for the fishery losses caused by Pelton/Round Butte (PRB) Hydroelectric Complex. myodfw.com
  6. 1973The adult holding ponds carry a 1973 construction age in the facility's rearing-facilities table. dfw.state.or.us
  7. 2002The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs became one-third owners of the Pelton/Round Butte complex. oregonhistoryproject.org
  8. 2004When it was time to relicense the dams, Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs committed to work together to restore fish passage as part of a new license. nwcouncil.org
  9. 2010The first successful downstream passage occurred in 2010. nwcouncil.org

Sources

  1. myodfw.com/round-butte-hatchery-visitors-guide
  2. dfw.state.or.us/fish/HGMP/docs/2024/Round%20Butte%20HPMP%202024.pdf
  3. oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/round-butte-dam-1965
  4. nwcouncil.org/blocked-area-mitigation-deschutes