NEOSHO, Mo. —
Workers are getting down to the final items on construction of a $4.6 million visitors center at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery. But hatchery director David Hendrix says finishing the building is only one part of the plan.
“Once (construction) is done, the exhibit contractors will come in and work their magic,” he said.
That “magic” is to include installing a 2,500-gallon freshwater aquarium, which Hendrix said will house several species of local sport fish.
“I call them ‘The Big Six,’ and they are the fish we work with right now: channel cat, paddlefish or spoonbill, endangered pallid sturgeon, largemouth and smallmouth bass, and rainbow trout,” he said.
Proposed features of the new center also include a book and souvenir shop, an exhibit hall with displays on the history of the hatchery, a display of artifacts, a training room with a wet lab, and video-viewing equipment. Office space is planned on the second floor. A new parking lot is planned for the northwest corner of the property, along with a wetlands area.
Hendrix said he hopes the 9,500-square-foot visitors center will be open by the end of September.
Construction on the center began last summer, after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allocated an additional $1.7 million to complete the project.
Hendrix said the hatchery draws about 45,000 visitors annually. He said he expects that number to go to more than 100,000 once the center is built.
He said the center will help complete a triad of area improvements, along with the Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center in Joplin and improvements to George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond.
“What we’re hoping to do is draw a lot of people to Southwest Missouri to experience our history and spend a little money,” he said.
“Southwest Missouri is family-oriented, and all these places are all park-like environments and family-oriented. We want people, when they think about where to go for the weekend that’s not costly, they will come to the fish hatchery.”
Oldest hatchery
The Neosho National Fish Hatchery is the oldest federal fish hatchery in operation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It began operation in 1890.
Local News
Related Photos
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An image of a pallid sturgeon, one of the species raised by the Neosho National Fish Hatchery, adorns the floor design at the new visitors center. Globe/T. Rob Brown
Discussion
Hatchery targets late September for opening of new center
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