Fish purge will begin this year

State agency plans May 3 meeting

The Daily Inter Lake

A project aimed at purging hybrid trout from alpine lakes will be the focus of a public meeting May 3 in Kalispell.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is sponsoring the informational meeting at the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell starting at 7 p.m.

Last year, the agency approved plans to use rotenone, a fish toxicant, to remove hybrid fish from 21 high mountain lakes above the South Fork Flathead River over a 10-year period.

That drainage is considered a stronghold for westslope cutthroats, vulnerable to the long-term genetic effects of cross-breeding with Yellowstone cutthroats and rainbow trout.

Lakes that are treated this fall will be restocked the following spring with pure westslope cutthroats.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials pledged to hold regular, annual meetings to inform the public and hear comments on the best ways to proceed with the program.

The upcoming meeting will focus on two lakes that are scheduled for treatment this fall: Black and Blackfoot lakes in the Jewel Basin Hiking Area. State biologists on May 3 will discuss those plans, and take questions from the public.

The project has been in the research and planning stages for years and was approved last year after the completion of a state environmental assessment and a federal environmental impact statement developed by Bonneville Power Administration and the Flathead National Forest.

The project is funded by BPA through the Hungry Horse Dam fisheries mitigation program.