On June 20, 2008, members of Battle Creek Watershed Conservancy and Greater Battle Creek Watershed Working Group toured construction of the $10 million fish barrier weir and ladder modification project underway at Coleman National Fish Hatchery in Anderson.

Scott Hamelberg, Manager of Coleman NFH, explained that the purpose of the barrier weir is to divert the fall run of Chinook salmon into the hatchery rather than allowing them to pass upstream. The new ladder will pass 300 CFS (cubic feet per second) as opposed to the original ladder which passed only 35 CFS. Hamelberg told the group that Battle Creek will overflow its banks at 3,000 CFS and that after a rain on snow event one spring it reached 21,000 CFS.

The project is expected to be completed ahead of schedule, before the return of fall run Chinook in October, 2008.