Trout in the Classroom has Successful Second Run

JUNE 12, 2025

Photo – Small trout in a cup – Courtesy Wyoming Game and Fish

Wyoming Game and Fish is celebrating the second successful year of Trout in the Classroom.

In 2023, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department launched three new conservation education programs for Wyoming students: National Archery in the Schools, Hunter Education, and Trout in the Classroom.

Game and Fish Conservation Education Coordinator Katie Schlafke explained how Trout in the Classroom is a national program that’s been around for roughly 30 years. Two years ago, Wyoming Game and Fish introduced the program to the Cowboy State through a partnership with Wyoming Trout Unlimited.

Schlafke said Trout in the Classroom provides students with hands-on instruction about the importance of their local lakes and river systems.

Schlafke said schools enrolled in the Trout in the Classroom program receive rainbow trout eggs for students to hatch.

At the end of the school year, the young fish are released into Game and Fish approved lakes around the state.

All rainbow trout eggs used in the educational program are all spawned at the Boulder Rearing Station, in Boulder, Wyoming. The Dubois Hatchery then prepares the eggs to be distributed around the state.

Here in Carbon County, the Rawlins Middle and Encampment K-12 Schools participated in this year’s Trout in the Classroom program. Conservation Education Coordinator Katie Schlafke said that of the 200 eggs received by Rawlins Middle School’s sixth-grade class, roughly one quarter survived and were released into Saratoga Lake at the end of the school year.

Schlafke said the Encampment K-12 School students were a little more successful raising their rainbow trout eggs. The Game and Fish Conservation Education Coordinator said by the end of the school year, approximately 75 trout fingerlings were released into Saratoga Lake.

Game and Fish agents released all the rainbow trout fingerlings into Saratoga Lake on May 8th.

Schlafke said both the Rawlins Middle and Encampment K-12 Schools will continue offering Trout in the Classroom during the upcoming school year. The Conservation Education Coordinator advised educators interested in the program to visit the Wyoming Game and Fish Department website for more information.

Participation in the Trout in the Classroom program isn’t free. Schlafke said schools are responsible for purchasing the equipment necessary to raise the rainbow trout hatchlings.

Schlafke said the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming Trout Unlimited offer grants to help schools offset the cost of the equipment.

Schlafke said the conservation-themed program has been positively received by participating schools.

Schlafke thanked Wyoming Trout Unlimited and the partner hatcheries for giving students access to the Trout in the Classroom program.