(Wayne County, UT) — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is working to restore a fish hatchery that was once the state’s key trout producer. Officials broke ground on May 30th for what they say will be a new future for the Loa Fish Hatchery in Wayne County. At its peak, the old hatchery could annually pump out about 180-thousand pounds of fish needed to stock bodies of water with trout all over the state. The state funded a new building and facilities with the expectation it will be completed in mid-2027 with fish back on site in 2028. In 2014, the then 78-year-old hatchery was shut down after a two-year infestation by the New Zealand mud snail devastated the operation.