(Released: April 16, 2018 - Expired: May 18, 2018)

Division of Sport Fish
Tom Brookover, Director
Anchorage Headquarters Office
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, AK 99518


Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Sam Cotten, Commissioner
P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, AK 99811-5526
www.adfg.alaska.gov


Contact: Brian Marston, Area Management Biologist
(907) 262-9368

Public Comment Period Begins for Tote Road Pike Lake Restoration

(Soldotna) - Decades ago northern pike were illegally introduced into the waters of the Kenai Peninsula area. Northern pike are an invasive species in Southcentral Alaska and have reduced or eliminated native fish species in multiple Kenai Peninsula area waters. Northern pike were once found in over 20 local waters; however, following years of removal efforts by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), northern pike are currently only known to exist in eight lakes near the Tote Road/Gruber Road area south of Soldotna. Recent local northern pike introductions underscore the need to remove northern pike from all Kenai Peninsula area waters.

ADF&G has proposed removing northern pike from the Tote Road/Gruber Road area and previously held public scoping meetings to discuss potential northern pike removal alternatives and sport fishery restoration plans. ADF&G’s preferred alternative is to remove northern pike by applying rotenone, a common fish pesticide. Following the removal of northern pike, treated waters would be restored with native fish species, wild rainbow trout and coho salmon, to provide an alternative sport fishery. There are no plans to develop public access to these waters.

The proposed project is now in the permitting process. As part of the permitting process, public comments are being solicited for: 1) an Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) Application for Permit to Apply Pesticides and 2) an Environmental Assessment (EA).

Written comments for the ADEC Application for Permit to Apply Pesticides may be submitted via mail, fax, or email. Written comments must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time on Thursday, May 17, 2018. 

Application for Permit to Apply Pesticides
Attn: Rebecca Colvin
Department of Environmental Conservation
Pesticide Program
555 Cordova Street, Anchorage, AK 99501
Fax: (907) 269-7510
Email: rebecca.colvin@alaska.gov

Written comments for the Tote Road EA may be submitted via mail, fax, or email. Written comments must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time on Friday, May 18, 2018. Mailed comments must be postmarked prior to May 18.

Tote Road Environmental Assessment
Attn: Robert Begich
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
43961 K-Beach Road, Suite B
Soldotna, AK 99669
Fax: 907-262-4709
Email: robert.begich@alaska.gov

For information regarding the ADEC Application for Permit to Apply Pesticides, please contact ADEC Pesticide Control Program Manager Karin Hendrickson at (907) 376-1856 or via email at karin.hendrickson@alaska.gov.

For information about the Tote Road EA, please visit the ADF&G’s Current Rotenone Projects in Alaska webpage.

For additional information or questions, please contact Soldotna Area Management Biologist Brian Marston at brian.marston@alaska.gov; or Soldotna Assistant Area Management Biologist Jenny Gates at jenny.gates@alaska.gov.

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