Located downstream from the Oxbow Dam powerhouse at the mouth of Pine Creek, Oxbow Hatchery is a holding and spawning facility for adult steelhead migrating up the Snake River, above its confluence with the Salmon River.

Steelhead are collected in a trap at Hells Canyon Dam and held to maturity at Oxbow where they are artificially spawned by hatchery staff.

More than one million eggs are fertilized and go through their first stages of development here. Eventually, the eggs are delivered to the Niagara Springs Hatchery to hatch and grow for approximately 11 months before they're ready for release into the Snake River below Hells Canyon Dam.

In 2000, Idaho Power added raceways to rear up to 200,000 fall Chinook salmon for release below Hells Canyon Dam.

The company also funds the production of an additional 800,000 more fall Chinook salmon at a non-Idaho Power hatchery in Oregon.

Each year a combined total of up to one million juvenile fall Chinook are released into the Snake River below Hells Canyon Dam.