Retiring hatchery chief recalls whirling disease challenge

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

David Smeltzer has never strayed far from his fish. In his 32-year career with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, he has always lived right at a fish hatchery site.

His most recent home was on the grounds of the Bellvue Fish Hatchery, a scenic spot in the foothills of Pleasant Valley.

On June 29, Smeltzer retired from his post as manager of the Bellvue-Watson Fish Hatchery, but even now he's not far from the fry, the fingerlings and the catchable fish that he raised for so many years. He and his wife, Susan, recently bought a home in LaPorte to spend their retirement years.

Susan is already retired from a career with Poudre School District, so the two hope to explore new areas of Colorado and do more camping and fishing now that David has hung up his hat. The couple have a daughter in high school and a son in college.

Bellvue-Watson now has two new administrators, manager Brad Neuschwanger and assistant manager Steve Hokasson.

A third-generation Coloradan, Smeltzer grew up in Rifle and spent his youth fishing and camping. That kind of upbringing triggered his interest in wildlife, and he earned a degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University. He expected to work more with big game, but a job opening in fisheries led him down that path, and he has never regretted it.

From his first DOW job in Estes Park, Smeltzer moved to the Roaring Judy Fish Hatchery near Gunnison, then to the Bellvue-Watson facility in 1985. He has managed the operation since 1990.

In Smeltzer's years at Bellvue-Watson, one challenge that rose above the rest was whirling disease, and it still plays a big role in management of the local facilities. From 1997 to 2000, the Watson rearing unit was taken out of catchable trout production after it tested positive for whirling disease. The hatchery, which has never tested positive, remained in full production during those years.

Since Watson was no longer producing catchable trout, the DOW reduced local staff from eight to four. "That really hurt us," said Smeltzer, because the most labor-intensive work was at the Bellvue hatchery.

Contrary to popular belief, whirling disease has not been eradicated and it's not likely to be. The disease is still present in the Poudre River, and since that water flows through the Watson Lake unit, the fish are exposed. "It's a very, very low level of exposure," Smeltzer pointed out, but the DOW does not want any infected fish in disease-free waters or in waters where they can naturally reproduce.

As a result, fish from Watson can be stocked only in lakes and reservoirs, where fish do not reproduce, and only from the Front Range east. "We're showing some definite improvements statewide" as a result of the cautionary measures, Smeltzer said, and he predicts the public won't hear as much about the disease five years from now. Every DOW hatchery unit is checked for the disease each year.

The ongoing threat from whirling disease is the reason that trout are no longer stocked at Watson Lake, although some do come in from the river. If the DOW were to put more trout in the lake, exposure to whirling disease would increase at the rearing unit. Fishermen can now catch smallmouth bass, sauger, tiger muskies and yellow perch at Watson Lake.

Of course, whirling disease has not been the only challenge during Smeltzer's long career. While he was working at Roaring Judy, the staff was spending lots of time and money trucking kokanee salmon to the spawning raceways. Smeltzer developed a fish ladder that accomplished the same thing with much less labor.

Smeltzer said he has been extremely fortunate to have a career in fish hatchery management. "It was a great opportunity to live in some of the most beautiful places in Colorado," he noted. And, he never had to commute to work.