Deadline extended for walleye comments

 The deadline has been extended for people to comment on a proposal to suppress walleye in Noxon Rapids Reservoir.

Comments on the draft environmental assessment must now be received by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks or postmarked by Friday, April 19.

 “We received over 250 comments and a petition on the project,” according to Region One Supervisor Jim Satterfield of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

 “We also received a number of requests for a comment period extension to review the technical background of the EA. Given the level of controversy surrounding this issue, I am extending the comment period.”

Many of the comments received and expressed at a recent meeting held in Thompson Falls come from people who oppose the effort to suppress walleye, a non-native species that was illegally introduced in Noxon Reservoir.

Opponents regard walleye as an attractive sport fish, while state biologists and proponents of the project maintain that walleye will have harmful effects on native fish species.

The agency proposes a six-year effort to investigate suppressing illegally introduced walleye using a variety of sampling gear and techniques.

Beginning this spring and continuing until 2018, there would be intensive electrofishing and/or gill-netting in the upper portion of Noxon Reservoir from the Flatiron fishing access to the Thompson Falls Dam.

The project would last until the end of May or June or until walleyes are no longer concentrated in the spawning area.

These or other techniques also would be used to target other seasonal concentrations of walleye throughout the reservoir.

 The environmental study can be found at fwp.mt.gov (click “news,” then “public notices”) and comments can be submitted by email at this site.

Copies of the environmental assessment are also available at Fish, Wildlife and Parks offices and the Thompson Falls Library,.

In the meantime, routine sampling of walleye in Noxon Reservoir will continue as in previous years. Captured fish will be tagged and released.  Data collected will shed light on the status, distribution, age structure, and health of the walleye population.

Illegally introduced walleye were first detected in the reservoir in 1991 during fisheries sampling. 

These fish are the result of several illegal introductions. In 2000, standardized annual monitoring was implemented to monitor trends in fish abundance and showed that walleye were naturally reproducing.