July 2022 - 42

Lars Alsager has been the superintendent at the Dan Speas Fish Hatchery near Casper for 10 years. He and his family live at the hatchery. (Photo by Chris Martin/WGFD)
" The location of the fish hatchery
is far enough away from the
busyness of our town that you feel
that you are in your own oasis. "
- Aleene Burningham
ISOLATION
Speas Fish Hatchery is less than 20 miles
from Casper - Wyoming's second-most
populated city. The Clark's Fork Hatchery
is 29 miles north of Cody, and also in close
proximity to Powell. Those who live at those
hatcheries are close to conveniences such as
shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, etc.
Lars Alsager has lived and worked at six
fish hatcheries throughout his career. Alsager
has been the superintendent at Speas for 10
years, and his previous hatchery experience
was in Idaho.
" Some were in towns of 100 and some were
in towns of 70,000, " Alsager said. " They all
have their allure and drawbacks. It is always
nice to be able to run to town and grab a gallon
of milk, as well as the other opportunities
that a large town or city provides. But, it's nice
not to have to pay $8 for a gallon of milk like
sometimes you do in small communities. "
That's not the case at all of Wyoming's
hatcheries and rearing stations.
Ten Sleep Hatchery is nine miles from the
town of Ten Sleep - population 214. Nearby
Wigwam Rearing Station is about four miles
from Ten Sleep. The closest, larger community
is Worland, about 30 miles away with a
population of about 5,200.
42 | July 2022
Tillett is about 50 miles from Cody. The
closest town is Lovell, and Welch said it has
a hardware store, one small grocery store and
three gas stations.
Hatcheries such as Dubois, Daniel, Auburn
and Boulder share similar isolation circumstances
in terms of being a significant distance
from more populated areas.
However, fish hatcheries were not built or
designed to be in populated areas due to their
primary need: access to a clean, ample water
source. Isolation is part of the deal - some
more than others.
Burningham and his wife, Aleene, have
been married 33 years. She knows what life is
like at a hatchery and the isolation, and she's
embraced it.
" I love the isolation of Ten Sleep, the little-town
atmosphere is calm and peaceful most
of the time, " she said. " I do have to say we take
a trip once a month to one of the bigger cities
to get groceries and experience the city life.
It is our 'big-city outing' to go to Walmart,
Maurices, etc., and it takes two hours to get
there and two hours back. I'm always glad to
get back home after our city trips. The location
of the fish hatchery is far enough away from
the busyness of our town that you feel that
you are in your own oasis. "

July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2022

July 2022 - 1
July 2022 - 2
July 2022 - 3
July 2022 - 4
July 2022 - 5
July 2022 - 6
July 2022 - 7
July 2022 - 8
July 2022 - 9
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July 2022 - 11
July 2022 - 12
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July 2022 - 14
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July 2022 - 42
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July 2022 - 46
July 2022 - 47
July 2022 - 48
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