Poisoning Lakes to Protect the Environment?
Posted: January 23rd, 2008, 8:43 amBased on US Fish & Wildlife actions it appears not only acceptable, but desirable to intentionally poison lakes, rivers & streams, killing everything in the water with who knows what side effects & negative long term effects to the watershed. However the Sequoia Forest Service & other Forests are poised to close existing trails because a few trail bikes cross even a dry stream bed or heaven forbid an actual creek. We are told by Forest Staff that these trail bike crossings are damaging the watershed.
It is hard to conceive that trail bikes represent any real threat to the environment or the watershed, however lets get some perspective. Since the wholesale poisoning of a watershed is desirable, then how could a few trail bikes be of any consequence?
This question has been asked of the Forest Service, we look forward to their answer.
-Chris Horgan
Stewards of the Sequoia
Division of CTUC 501c3
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Shame
In this photo provided by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, a fisheries technician prepares to distribute the poison rotenone by boat in Black Lake on Sept. 27 in the Swan Mountain Range near Kalispell. State fish and wildlife commissioners have rejected a proposal to sideline the fish-poisoning project in Western Montana lakes, but say they will step up efforts to obtain public comment on the project.
Commission to continue fish poisoning
By The Associated Press
HELENA - State commissioners pressed to call off the poisoning of fish in about 20 Montana lakes refused Monday, but they agreed to examine the 10-year project aimed at removing nonnative fish and replacing them with prized westslope cutthroat trout.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commissioner Victor Workman sought to sideline the project, saying use of the poison rotenone raises environmental concerns. He also said it is questionable whether trout reintroduction will succeed.
Westslope cutthroat, the state fish, are sensitive, but the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to list them for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Workman's effort to idle the poisoning authorized in 2006 by Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff failed on a 3-2 vote during a telephone conference Monday by the agency's commissioners. They then directed the staff to solicit public comment on the project and compile information for their review.
Commissioners said they will decide in July whether to poison fish in the next two lakes on the list of 21, in the South Fork Flathead River area, that are targeted for treatment over a 10-year span. So far, rotenone has been dispersed in two of the lakes. Poisoning of fish in at least one more has been planned for this fall.
For decades, rotenone has been widely used for fish management in the United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has supported its use, and state officials said Monday that pending federal re-registration of the product is one indication of confidence in it. Montana waters where fish have been poisoned chemically include Cherry Creek, which flows through Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch near Bozeman. Turner largely financed the project.
National fish conservation group Trout Unlimited has looked at rotenone projects nationwide, supporting some and questioning others, and is not alarmed by the Montana work, said Bruce Farling, the organization's executive director for the state.
"My public doesn't like the project," said Workman, whose district covers the Flathead area. He said he is the first person "of any authority to ask hard questions" about it.
Workman said his concern about potential environmental harm from rotenone dispersed in lakes increased when a Fish, Wildlife and Parks official told him that "viewing of this project is not for the faint of heart."
"It looks like a war zone," he said. "If it's alive, it's dead."
The Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff on Monday told commissioners that measures to limit rotenone's impact, such as using it in the fall instead of the summer, when amphibians are in their larval stage, are taken. Insects are harmed, but they recover well, said Don Skaar, chief of the state fish management bureau.
Rotenone's reach is limited partly because it binds with sediment in water, the staff said.
Workman's proposal defeated by commissioners called for postponement of the South Fork project pending study of rotenone's effects, a public review and a vote by the commission. Public involvement has been inadequate and it was wrong for the poisoning project to advance in 2006 with staff approval but no action by commissioners, Workman said.
Commission Chairman Steve Doherty said state procedures permit a "boatload" of public comment and give commissioners room to halt the poisoning if it is not working or they find risks unacceptable.
Workman said people have stopped trying to communicate with Fish, Wildlife and Parks staffers after finding they do not listen and are intent on advancing the fish eradication.
"Other than calling me and saying, 'Please stop this,' they've given up," he said.
It is hard to conceive that trail bikes represent any real threat to the environment or the watershed, however lets get some perspective. Since the wholesale poisoning of a watershed is desirable, then how could a few trail bikes be of any consequence?
This question has been asked of the Forest Service, we look forward to their answer.
-Chris Horgan
Stewards of the Sequoia
Division of CTUC 501c3
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Shame
In this photo provided by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, a fisheries technician prepares to distribute the poison rotenone by boat in Black Lake on Sept. 27 in the Swan Mountain Range near Kalispell. State fish and wildlife commissioners have rejected a proposal to sideline the fish-poisoning project in Western Montana lakes, but say they will step up efforts to obtain public comment on the project.
Commission to continue fish poisoning
By The Associated Press
HELENA - State commissioners pressed to call off the poisoning of fish in about 20 Montana lakes refused Monday, but they agreed to examine the 10-year project aimed at removing nonnative fish and replacing them with prized westslope cutthroat trout.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commissioner Victor Workman sought to sideline the project, saying use of the poison rotenone raises environmental concerns. He also said it is questionable whether trout reintroduction will succeed.
Westslope cutthroat, the state fish, are sensitive, but the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to list them for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Workman's effort to idle the poisoning authorized in 2006 by Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff failed on a 3-2 vote during a telephone conference Monday by the agency's commissioners. They then directed the staff to solicit public comment on the project and compile information for their review.
Commissioners said they will decide in July whether to poison fish in the next two lakes on the list of 21, in the South Fork Flathead River area, that are targeted for treatment over a 10-year span. So far, rotenone has been dispersed in two of the lakes. Poisoning of fish in at least one more has been planned for this fall.
For decades, rotenone has been widely used for fish management in the United States.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has supported its use, and state officials said Monday that pending federal re-registration of the product is one indication of confidence in it. Montana waters where fish have been poisoned chemically include Cherry Creek, which flows through Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch near Bozeman. Turner largely financed the project.
National fish conservation group Trout Unlimited has looked at rotenone projects nationwide, supporting some and questioning others, and is not alarmed by the Montana work, said Bruce Farling, the organization's executive director for the state.
"My public doesn't like the project," said Workman, whose district covers the Flathead area. He said he is the first person "of any authority to ask hard questions" about it.
Workman said his concern about potential environmental harm from rotenone dispersed in lakes increased when a Fish, Wildlife and Parks official told him that "viewing of this project is not for the faint of heart."
"It looks like a war zone," he said. "If it's alive, it's dead."
The Fish, Wildlife and Parks staff on Monday told commissioners that measures to limit rotenone's impact, such as using it in the fall instead of the summer, when amphibians are in their larval stage, are taken. Insects are harmed, but they recover well, said Don Skaar, chief of the state fish management bureau.
Rotenone's reach is limited partly because it binds with sediment in water, the staff said.
Workman's proposal defeated by commissioners called for postponement of the South Fork project pending study of rotenone's effects, a public review and a vote by the commission. Public involvement has been inadequate and it was wrong for the poisoning project to advance in 2006 with staff approval but no action by commissioners, Workman said.
Commission Chairman Steve Doherty said state procedures permit a "boatload" of public comment and give commissioners room to halt the poisoning if it is not working or they find risks unacceptable.
Workman said people have stopped trying to communicate with Fish, Wildlife and Parks staffers after finding they do not listen and are intent on advancing the fish eradication.
"Other than calling me and saying, 'Please stop this,' they've given up," he said.