Comment period extended on lakes poisoning

Hungry Horse News

The Bonneville Power Administration has extended the deadline to take comments on a proposal to poison and remove hybridized populations of trout from 21 lakes in and around the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

The BPA extended to the comment period until Dec. 12, 2005, after folks said their comments were left out of a final environmental impact statement released over the summer.

The project is in cooperation with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. FWP biologists and technicians would actually complete the project, while BPA would provide funding.

The project has been supported by some fish advocacy groups, but many locals, including many outfitters oppose it.

FWP's concern is that the hybridized trout - generally rainbow-cutthroat crosses, will get into the main South Fork of the Flathead drainage and hybridize with genetically pure cutthroat trout there.

The South Fork is regarded as one of the last bastions of genetically pure cutthroat trout populations in the Lower 48.

But critics of the program point out that the lakes with hybridized fish have had them for decades, and still there is no evidence of hybridization in the South Fork.

Lakes being eyed for poisoning include Black, Blackfoot, Clayton, George, Handkerchief, Koessler, Lena, Lick, Lower Big Hawk, Lower Three Eagles, Margaret, Necklace Chain of Lakes, Pilgrim, Pyramid, Sunburst, Upper Three Eagles, Wildcat and Woodward lakes.

After a lake is killed, genetically pure cutthroats would be re-introduced into the lakes. FWP maintains it would take about one or two years to rebuild the fisheries in the lakes and about five or six years for fish to grow to trophy status.

In Handkerchief Lake, which contains trophy grayling, the plan is to net out as many grayling as possible, put them in holding tanks, poison the lake, and then put the grayling back in the lake.

The poison, which only kills fish, breaks down quickly allowing the fish to be placed back into the lake unharmed, FWP claims in the final EIS.

The Forest Service is also involved in the project as well.