Leadville National Fish Hatchery was created by Executive Order of President Benjamin Harrison for the purpose of increasing the supply of fish for inland waters. The hatchery grounds occupy 3,072 acres near the city of Leadville, Colorado, at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The hatchery’s subalpine forest surroundings, with its cold, clean water supply, provide the ideal location for trout production. Originally, the hatchery produced trout that were distributed over the entire Rocky Mountain region. Waters that originally held only native cutthroat trout, or none at all, were stocked with additional trout. The Black Hills area and parts of Wyoming that held no native trout were first stocked from this hatchery.