Contact:
Robert Begich
Area Management Biologist
Phone: (907) 262-9368

Beginning Monday, Sept. 3, through Monday, Sept. 10, 2012, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG), in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, will close public access to Stormy Lake. The closure will allow agencies to conduct a piscicide treatment of Stormy Lake to remove illegally introduced northern pike. Stormy Lake public access will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

Invasive northern pike have depleted native Arctic char and rainbow trout in Stormy Lake to a level that no longer supports a viable sport fishery. The continued presence of northern pike threatens native coho and sockeye salmon, as well as rainbow trout, Arctic char/Dolly Varden, longnose sucker and other species of the 240-square-mile Swanson River drainage.

ADFG has, with public input, evaluated alternatives for addressing the invasive northern pike issue and believes the piscicide rotenone is the most cost-efficient and effective method. Rotenone is a naturally-occurring compound commonly used to eliminate invasive fish species, and selectively targets fish and other animals with gills. There are no public health concerns with the use of rotenone in the concentrations used for fisheries management, although consuming fish that have been exposed to the treatment is not recommended. For more information about rotenone, visit: www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=rotenone.main.

Eradication of northern pike will allow restoration of the lake’s natural fish assemblage and remove the threat of pike spreading from Stormy Lake into the remainder of the drainage. The department has taken steps to restock the lake with native fish species later this fall or early next spring after the rotenone has sufficiently degraded.

The Stormy Lake Restoration Project is a partnership between ADFG, Division of Sport Fish; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Kenai Field Office and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge); the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation; and the Kenai River Sportfishing Association.

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