When the state allowed expansion of the Grayling Fish Hatchery, permitting it to raise 300,000 pounds of fish a year and treat the East Branch as its open sewer, Anglers’ stepped in.
We spent several hundred thousand dollars proving the damage the farm would do to the river, adding pollution, dumping uneaten food into the stream and allowing hatchery fish – and their diseases – into river to threaten the natural fishery.

After a six-year battle, including days of hearings before an administrative law judge and positive rulings for Anglers from a Crawford County Circuit Judge, Anglers decided to reach a settlement with the fish farm operators.

The agreement closed the commercial fish farm permanently. Anglers assumed the lease from Crawford County and agreed to restore the hatchery to a much smaller tourist attraction with educational opportunities. We have turned operation over to a locally formed group, and are working to completely separate the hatchery and its races from the East Branch to protect the river.