Laserfiche WebLink
Chemical Reclamation -- A USFWS Biological Opinion and a Finding of No <br />Significant Impact determined that reclamations could occur year round without <br />adverse affect to listed species (USFWS 1998b, USFWS 1998c). Sixty-nine <br />ponds were chemically reclaimed with rotenone (66 ponds), chlorine (2 ponds), or <br />both (1 pond - winter application of chlorine resulted in an incomplete fish kill, <br />rotenone was then used the following summer and a complete fish kill was <br />obtained). Chlorine was used instead of rotenone for winter reclamations <br />because rotenone toxicity is diminished in colder water temperatures (Spitler <br />1986). Another pond reclamation using chlorine was not successful and resulted <br />in an incomplete fish kill. Like the pond described above that was treated with <br />chlorine and rotenone, this pond was treated a second time with chlorine and all <br />fish were removed. An attempt was also made to induce a summer kill by applying <br />an herbicide to ultimately create an oxygen deficit in the water column of two <br />densely vegetated ponds. This was unsuccessful in both cases and rotenone was <br />later applied. Endangered fish mortality was not observed following these 69 <br />reclamations. <br />Re-invasion - In the 71 ponds where fish were removed, the most common <br />fishes in terms of incidence (number of ponds containing species) were green <br />sunfish, common carp, largemouth bass, and black bullhead (Table 13). Of the <br />71 ponds, 54 were later re-sampled to determine incidence of re-invasion. Of <br />these 54 ponds, 35 (65%) had re-invaded with nonnative fish and two of the 35 <br />also contained native fish. Some of the 35 ponds were sampled within three <br />months of treatment and had re-invaded, while re-invasion of others occurred <br />within 37 months post-reclamation (Table 14). However, the exact time of re- <br />invasion for each of the 35 ponds is unknown. Re-invasion may have occurred <br />immediately following detoxification of reclaimed ponds or just prior to re- <br />sampling. Green sunfish and fathead minnow were present in 26 (74%) and 13 <br />(37%), respectively, of the 35 re-invaded ponds (Table 15). Largemouth bass <br />were only sampled in two of the 35 re-invaded ponds but were present in 28 of the <br />54 re-sampled ponds prior to treatment. Additional nonnative fish species that re- <br />invaded one or more of the 35 ponds included common carp, goldfish, sand <br />shiner, white sucker, black bullhead, and mosquitofish (Table 15). Nonnative fish <br />31