Friends of the
Manchester Fish Hatchery

Visitors Welcome! The Manchester Fish Hatchery grounds, located just east of Manchester, Iowa, are open daily, sunrise to sunset. Stop by to feed the fish, try your luck in the adjoining trout stream or to simply enjoy nature.

New Observation Deck Completed

Friends celebrate

first project

For the improved safety of visitors, a dated and worn observation deck was recently removed and redone with funding provided by the Friends. The new deck was completed just in time for Labor Day weekend! Thanks to Friends' President John Zietlow and DNR staff for completing this project. We hope it is one of many new projects that will be popping up at the hatchery.

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Watershed Mural

Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority installs

public art at Manchester Hatchery

The Friends Group helped fund the installation of a mural highlighting the Maquoketa River Watershed at the hatchery. The Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority, through an Iowa DNR watershed planning grant enlisted the help of the University of Iowa’s Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) program to create the mural.

U of I art students Sean Tyler & Lachlan Hinwood created the artwork after visiting the hatchery.

We''re very pleased the Friends group was able to provide monetary support to enable the final surface preparation and offers many thanks to the MR WMA, the University of Iowa staff and students that worked on the project and most importantly local hatchery staff that helped with the final mural installation. Be sure to visit the hatchery to see it in person!

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Hello

About Us

The Friends of Manchester Fish Hatchery is a non-profit created to support and improve educational services and visitor amenities at the Manchester Fish Hatchery.

Our Story

It looks a bit different today than it did 100+ years ago!

The Manchester Fish Hatchery, located 4 miles southeast of Manchester, Iowa, has a long and storied history. The first fish were produced here in the 1890’s. It was operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until 1976 when it was given to the state of Iowa via a land trade. Since 1976, it has functioned as Iowa’s trout brood stock station where trout are spawned, incubated and hatched each year to produce over 600,000 fish for stocking in Iowa waters. Tours of the hatchery grounds are self guided around the exterior trout raceways. Office hours are by appointment. Learn more about the Manchester Hatchery and other hatcheries across the state of Iowa by visiting the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' website here.

Who are the Friends of the Manchester Fish Hatchery? Generations of friends have enjoyed visiting the fish hatchery over the years. To better support visitors and to help fund future projects, a formal organization called the 'Friends of the Manchester Fish Hatchery' quietly formed in 2021. Business of the Friends' group is conducted by a Board of Directors including: John Zietlow, President; Lori Scovel, Vice President; Jack Klaus, Treasurer; Amy Steger, Secretary; and Pete Lilja, Director at Large. Dan Rosauer, Biologist with Iowa DNR, serves as a non-voting Ex-Officio Member.

The Friends of the Manchester Fish Hatchery have established goals: Maintain fish feeders for the public to purchase feed and give to the fish at the Manchester Fish Hatchery; Determine needs and administer funds raised to improve the public interactions at the Manchester Fish Hatchery; and Conduct outreach to better the mission and educate the public about natural resources focusing on the Manchester Fish Hatchery. Feed those fish and help us fund future projects at the Manchester Hatchery!

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