Rainbow trout from the Decorah Fish Hatchery are finding new homes--in urban areas

The DNR Fish Hatchery in Decorah routinely stocks several varieties of trout in cold water streams in Northeast Iowa.  For instance, rainbow trout are common in the cold water streams.

But the DNR is also doing urban trout stockings now.  "We're trying to expand our urban trout program to communities where we haven't done it before," said one DNR official. 

2,100 rainbow trout from the Decorah Fish Hatchery were taken to Ames over the weekend and were stocked in a lake in a city park.

Meanwhile, WHO-TV in Des Moines reports that another 1,400 rainbow trout from the Decorah Fish Hatchery were stocked in a lake at the Des Moines Area Community College campus in Ankeny over the weekend.

DNR Fisheries official Ben Dodd told the Ames Tribune, "Our goals are to provide a unique trout fishing opportunity for urban residents…and to educate the population about the trout streams we have in Iowa."