Federal authorities estimate it will take $8.3 million to get the Bo Ginn National Fish Hatchery up and running again. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife announced in June that it would re-open the facility on a limited basis in the spring of 2011 after negotiating a transfer agreement with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources which has overseen the hatchery since 1996.

With the recent discovery of Civil War artifacts on the prop- erty at the site of Camp Lawton, officials have indicated that future plans could also include an interpretive display area for some of those artifacts as well as new office buildings.

Bo Ginn National Fish Hatchery becomes the 71st hatchery in the National Fish Hatchery System and is expected to be fully operational by 2012 with an annual operating budget of $2.8. All plans, however, are pending budget appropriations.

The hatchery accesses crystal clear springs that are estimated to flow between 7-9 million gallons a day. It will serve as a refuge for threatened and endangered aquatic species and other rare species. Species of fish raised at the hatchery will depend on the particular needs at the time. Local waters may be stocked depending on the management goals of the Service and its partners.

The Bo Ginn Aquarium at the hatchery has been operated by the Jenkins County Development Authority for the past year, but the Service anticipates that the aquarium will eventually become a fully functioning component of the hatchery.

The hatchery was originally established in 1939 as a state fish hatchery prior to the operation of Magnolia Springs State Park. In 1948, the property was deeded to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the creation of the Millen National Fish Hatchery. It was renamed the Bo Ginn National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium in 1988.

The aquarium is open to the public and may be entered through Magnolia Springs State Park.