Group Says Hatchery Targeted for Closure

SPEARFISH, S.D. (AP) — A nonprofit group that supports the 117-year-old D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish says the facility is set to close.

The Booth Society Inc. says the hatchery is one of several across the country targeted for closure due to federal budget cuts. The group says the facility that has been a landmark in Spearfish since 1896 is due to close Oct. 1. The Rapid City Journal says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not confirmed that.

The hatchery still produces trout for lakes and streams in the Black Hills. It also serves as an American fisheries archive and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Booth Society says nearly 30 jobs in the area are tied to the hatchery.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.