The strategy, known as “reclamation,” has been used in Adirondack lakes for decades. The pace of reclamations have slowed in recent years, but fisheries managers still aim to reclaim at least one waterbody each year.
Echo Pond makes for a relatively simple reclamation site. It’s small and as a seepage pond without an inlet or outlet stream, there is limited access for fish from outside the pond to recolonize it. Ponds with large wetlands are poor candidates for reclamation.
The proposal calls for using nearly 1,200 pounds of powdered rotenone to maintain concentrations of 1.5 parts per billion throughout the pond, a lethal dose designed to kill off all the fish in the lake. The following fall, DEC will stock the pond with around 500 fall fingerling brook trout, returning for at least the next few years to do the same. After three or four years of stocking the pond, fisheries managers will assess whether the new brook trout are reproducing, a sign they can phase out stocking. The goal of managers, as outlined in a draft new brook trout management plan, is to establish brook trout ponds that can sustain themselves without annual stocking.
“Reclamation is the last tool in our toolbox,” said Rob Fiorentino, fisheries manager for DEC Region 5. “It’s a reset button.”
Uncertainty about federal funding, including dollars already awarded to organizations, continues to pervade the education and research community in the Adirondacks. A surge in state water infrastructure grants was partly underwritten with federal dollars; numerous nonprofits have federal grants through the Lake Champlain Basin Program; and schools, hospitals and other importation institutions are tied into federal funding.
Paul Smith’s College President Dan Kelting said the college recently tried to make a reimbursement submission for an already approved National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that is intended to support geographically isolated communities. After the submission, the college received a vague letter saying the submission was cancelled and had to be reviewed for an indefinite period of time. Several days later, the college received a letter saying submissions were being accepted again.
“This has been happening every day for the last two weeks,” Kelting said on Feb. 11.
Tom Langen, biology professor at Clarkson, said he’s witnessed the closure of NSF funding opportunities that are aligned with diversity initiatives and used by colleagues. He pointed to NSF’s Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program called Advance being “archived,” a term used for stopping a program. Advance funding had been used by women looking to further their careers in the STEM field.
“My biggest concern, personally, is the impact that this is going to have on early career scientists and engineers … because this is killing many, many programs that provide opportunities for STEM in education at the graduate level,” said Langen, speaking from a personal perspective and not on behalf of Clarkson.
Top photo: A trail through the snow heads toward Echo Pond in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest. Photo by Zachary Matson.
This first appeared in Zach’s weekly “Water Line” newsletter. Click here to sign up.
Killing fish to save them
Killing fish so others may thrive
Sometimes fisheries managers have to kill fish so that others may survive.
The Department of Environmental Conservation is planning to do just that at Echo Pond in October, using the chemical rotenone to kill its inhabitants to make way for a restoration of native brook trout.
The strategy, known as “reclamation,” has been used in Adirondack lakes for decades. The pace of reclamations have slowed in recent years, but fisheries managers still aim to reclaim at least one waterbody each year.
Echo Pond makes for a relatively simple reclamation site. It’s small and as a seepage pond without an inlet or outlet stream, there is limited access for fish from outside the pond to recolonize it. Ponds with large wetlands are poor candidates for reclamation.
The proposal calls for using nearly 1,200 pounds of powdered rotenone to maintain concentrations of 1.5 parts per billion throughout the pond, a lethal dose designed to kill off all the fish in the lake. The following fall, DEC will stock the pond with around 500 fall fingerling brook trout, returning for at least the next few years to do the same. After three or four years of stocking the pond, fisheries managers will assess whether the new brook trout are reproducing, a sign they can phase out stocking. The goal of managers, as outlined in a draft new brook trout management plan, is to establish brook trout ponds that can sustain themselves without annual stocking.
“Reclamation is the last tool in our toolbox,” said Rob Fiorentino, fisheries manager for DEC Region 5. “It’s a reset button.”
DEC is seeking an Adirondack Park Agency permit to carry out the reclamation in October, after the campground has closed and the pond has mixed into more consistent temperatures. APA is accepting public comments on the DEC proposal until Feb. 27.
Leaders fret fall off in federal research $$$
Uncertainty about federal funding, including dollars already awarded to organizations, continues to pervade the education and research community in the Adirondacks. A surge in state water infrastructure grants was partly underwritten with federal dollars; numerous nonprofits have federal grants through the Lake Champlain Basin Program; and schools, hospitals and other importation institutions are tied into federal funding.
Climate reporter Mike Lynch reports:
Paul Smith’s College President Dan Kelting said the college recently tried to make a reimbursement submission for an already approved National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that is intended to support geographically isolated communities. After the submission, the college received a vague letter saying the submission was cancelled and had to be reviewed for an indefinite period of time. Several days later, the college received a letter saying submissions were being accepted again.
“This has been happening every day for the last two weeks,” Kelting said on Feb. 11.
Tom Langen, biology professor at Clarkson, said he’s witnessed the closure of NSF funding opportunities that are aligned with diversity initiatives and used by colleagues. He pointed to NSF’s Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program called Advance being “archived,” a term used for stopping a program. Advance funding had been used by women looking to further their careers in the STEM field.
“My biggest concern, personally, is the impact that this is going to have on early career scientists and engineers … because this is killing many, many programs that provide opportunities for STEM in education at the graduate level,” said Langen, speaking from a personal perspective and not on behalf of Clarkson.
Top photo: A trail through the snow heads toward Echo Pond in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest. Photo by Zachary Matson.
This first appeared in Zach’s weekly “Water Line” newsletter. Click here to sign up.