[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 7/19/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

July 19, 2007

 

3. Watersheds

 

Pike poisoning approaches

Plumas County News – 7/18/07

By Diana Jorgenson, Portola Editor

 

As Labor Day approaches and along with it the chemical eradication of all fish in Lake Davis, concerned citizens have gathered under the umbrella of the Save Lake Davis Committee to do what they can to protest the poisoning. The second meeting drew a group of 18 people together July 12 at the Portola Library to discuss the next steps.

The California Department of Fish and Game's workshop series averaged similar numbers in public participation, but attendance was doubled by large numbers of officials from the agencies involved in the eradication. Only David Sipes of Plumas County Environmental Health was in attendance at this one.

The group addressed the issue of citizen apathy at the beginning of the meeting and the prevailing view was expressed by a Lake Davis resident: "I think the reason people are silent is that the 1997 poisoning proved that it didn't do any good (to protest)."

While the majority agreed with this assessment, the group is determined to proceed. A couple of members have been contacting out-of-area newspapers for coverage and a forum-type Web site is expected to be up and running in a week at savelakedavis.com. Members are also looking to environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and Audubon Society to support their anti-poisoning efforts.

Since it is now too late to submit comments for the environmental report, which was completed and approved last January, the committee is directing their efforts toward the governor's office. Committee members will be circulating petitions in the community to garner attention.

The evening's discussions covered alternative solutions to the "pike problem" and re-evaluated whether pike are or should be considered a problem. A number of participants expressed the belief that wholesale eradication of a species, and in this case all the other gill-breathing creatures living in Lake Davis as well, is simply wrong.

High on the group's list of concerns are health concerns, both to humans and to wildlife. While rotenone, the proposed poisoning agent, is an organic substance, the chemicals used to disperse it are not, and cancer-producing agents are part of the compound. DFG's assurance that these chemicals will break down quickly did not comfort the committee.

The next meeting of the Save Lake Davis Committee will be July 26 at 7 p.m. in the Portola Library meeting room. #

http://plumasnews.com/news_story.edi?sid=5271

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