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+--- Thread: cascade aquarium built at fischer pond (/showthread.php?tid=511811)
cascade aquarium built at fischer pond - FishNews - 06-24-2009
By Dale Allen - Idaho Department of Fish and Game
During the past three years an outdoor aquarium has been built along Highway 55 in Cascade.
The outdoor viewing aquarium was built to allow people to see aquatic organisms in a natural-looking setting. Educational information about fish life cycles and fish species identification is also available in a fun, entertaining setting. So what is the aquarium, and how was it constructed and funded?
The Cascade Aquarium sits in Fischer Park on the southeast side of Cascade just north of the North Fork Payette River Bridge. The aquarium can be reached on a blacktop path connecting to a trail system. The viewing area and trail system are handicapped accessible.
The aquarium consists of a concrete wall, with special viewing glass, and an earthen berm with a rubber liner to hold the water. On top of the liner, boulders, river rock and tree stumps have been placed to create fish habitat.
The 52-degree ground water is supplied via a pump and pipeline, and the aquarium's 10,000 gallon water volume is exchanged about every four hours.
Excess water cascades from the aquarium into a manmade creek channel running into Fischer Pond. The water is fed through an aeration column before it is introduced to bottom of the aquarium.
Project funding was an adventure in time and volunteer help. A significant amount of funding came through the Fish America Foundation, specifically from a donation from Pro-Line. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game used license funds, Cascade residents donated money, and local contractors contributed equipment, time and labor. The Idaho Department of Transportation donated boulders and rock fill, and local contractors hauled the material.
Students in the advanced biology class at Cascade High School wrote grant applications for funds, contacted contractors for equipment donations and provided much of the hand labor. And the City of Cascade's maintenance crew took on the project above their other duties to create something special for the city.
Dale Allen is the regional fishery manager for the Southwest Region.