Former Clayton Ridge student hired at Big Spring Hatchery
Matthew Klaes has accepted a full time position as a Natural Resource Technician at Big Spring Hatchery near Elkader. (Photo submitted)
By Caroline Rosacker
Former Clayton Ridge student Matthew Klaes knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in natural resources. He has recently accepted a full time position as a Natural Resource Technician at Big Spring Hatchery, near Elkader.
"It started when I was younger and did a lot of hunting and fishing," he told The Press. "I knew right away I wanted to work outdoors."
The 2017 graduate worked with Iowa Department of Natural Resource (IA-DNR) fisheries technician Kevin Hanson while completing his Eagle Scout project, and later as an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) seasonal employee. "I surveyed anglers at the boat ramps and assisted with sampling and invasive species research," he pointed out.
Klaes earned a degree in Environmental Science and Criminal Justice from the University of Dubuque and was a member of the collegiate bass fishing team.
His first seasonal job was as a water patrol officer on Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs. "I figured out pretty quickly I didn't like law enforcement," he commented. "I tried fisheries, and specifically enjoyed fish hatchery work, and decided to pursue that for my career."
In 2022 Klaes continued his career at Lake Rathbun in Moravia as part of the fish culture research team. He would transfer to Kake, a remote village on a small island in Southeast Alaska, to work in a salmon hatchery in 2023. "I was employed there from January - October and experienced very little daylight and a lot of rain in the winter months," he recalled. "I worked and lived in a float house on the ocean until June – two weeks on and one week off at a time. Once the salmon were big enough we released them into the ocean. When the weather warmed up in June the halibut and salmon fishing got really good, so, I took advantage of that."
His new position at Big Spring Hatchery involves raising rainbow trout to catchable size and stocking 15 cold-water trout streams from May to October. "We monitor for cold water bacterial diseases and treat the water to mitigate the problem," he explained. "We also vary the feed rates for each raceway of fish, this way we can produce catchable sized trout at different times of the year instead of all at once."
The Big Spring Hatchery is located at 16212 Big Spring Road. It has 24 raceways with around 12 in use at a time depending on the amount of fish on-site. Each raceway in use requires weekly flushing out and cleaning to keep the trout healthy. "At our facility, we raise about 150,000 catchable sized trout each year," he noted.
The water supply for the hatchery is fed by the largest cold-water spring in Iowa. Flows from the spring usually range from 20,000 to 30,000 gallons per minute but can exceed 150,000. The Big Spring Watershed is one of the most well-known and studied sites in the nation when it comes to information on groundwater in a karst (limestone) dominated landscape. The Big Spring Basin is a showcase for large sinkholes, losing streams and caves.
"I have had many unique experiences in the past, but I am grateful to be back in Iowa," concluded Klaes.
