The Drayton Plains State Fish Hatchery was listed as a Michigan Historic Site on August 24, 1984.
[6] As of 2016, there were six state fish hatcheries in operation in Michigan:[7] With Drayton Plains Nature Center retaining ownership, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division began raising fish in the hatchery ponds in 1970.
[8] In 2012 the Michigan Department of Resources Lake Erie Management Unit obtained walleye eggs from fish in the Muskegon River.
Drayton Plains State Fish Hatchery was one of the facilities that hosted the resulting fingerlings, which were later transferred to seven different lakes.
Along with expansive trails, it offers an interpretive center that houses displays of specimens in their natural habitat.