That's what I started to think as I walked around the Springbrook Trout Farm in Renton last weekend.
I was up there to do a story for a local magazine on the farm's opening day. But the "closed" signs everywhere gave me pause. So I called up the owner, Jerry, who said we're closed. Okay, when are you going to open?
"No, we're closed period," he said, although he added later in the conversation he may reopen the 50-year-old trout farm next year if he can't sell the place or can get a permit for an espresso stand.
Jerry bought the farm from the original family that ran it three years ago, but it's been a money losing proposition. People often stole the trout versus pay the $5 per fish fee, and the local wildlife thought Jerry was their version of the Easter bunny. Bald eagles, blue heron, osprey and a family of otters were coming up each night to feast (along with raccoons and opossum).
If this is truly it for Springbrook, it's the end of an age. A decade ago, there about a dozen farms of this ilk in King County, now there is just his. Most closed due to development pressures, or nearby houses fouling the streams that led into the ponds, and killing the fish.
The pressure is certainly evident at Springbrook, where condos have marched up to the property's front door, and just up the street is Valley Medical Center. But if you step inside the boundaries, it's like 40 years falls away, and you come back to a time where you could grab a pole and give a try at many of these small ponds around King County.
Photo by Jennifer Conner
1 comment:
As an update, I just talked with Jerry, the owner, and he said that the fish pond may only be closed this season, while he renovates the place. LEt's hope.
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