In 1872, the first U.S. federal fish hatchery, named the Baird Hatchery, was established on the McCloud River in California. The hatchery was created under the direction of Spencer Fullerton Baird, the first U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, to propagate salmon and trout for restocking. This marked the beginning of the National Fish Hatchery System, which would grow to include over 70 hatcheries across the country. The Baird Hatchery pioneered techniques in fish culture and contributed to the recovery of depleted fisheries.

The Baird Hatchery appears in American conservation literature and poetry, with writers like John Muir and Mary Hunter Austin celebrating its work. The hatchery also featured in the writings of the American Transcendentalists, who saw it as a practical expression of the harmony between humanity and nature. Its establishment was noted in the periodical press and in sporting magazines of the era.