Outdoor News Daily

The brook trout population in Schoolcraft County’s Lost Lake will be rehabilitated during October, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment announced today.

To facilitate the rehabilitation, the organic compound rotenone will be used to eliminate fish species that compete with brook trout for habitat and forage resources. Rotenone is a natural substance found in the roots of certain tropical plants, and has been widely used for decades in fisheries management in Michigan. It is the same compound used commonly in organic gardening to kill insect pests and protect vegetables. Rotenone is not harmful to humans, other mammals or birds, and does not accumulate in soil, water or plants.

“When rotenone is applied, fish present in the lake will die,” said DNRE fisheries biologist Darren Kramer. “Our annual stocking efforts of approximately 550 yearling Assinica brook trout will resume in the spring. Eliminating competing species permits greater survival and better growth of the stocked brook trout, and anglers should notice a much-improved fishery beginning in late 2011.”

Anglers may also observe additional activity on Lost Lake before the rehabilitation project commences, given a provision in the 2007 Inland Consent Decree whereby tribes in the 1836 Treaty-ceded area of Michigan can authorize their members to use a variety of fishing gears, including gill nets and impoundment nets, to harvest fish from waters before scheduled rehabilitation projects begin.

For more information about the Lost Lake rehabilitation, contact Kramer at 906-786-2351. To learn more about DNRE fisheries management, go online to http://www.michigan.gov/fisheries.

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