DFG News Archive

Lake Davis Pike Eradication Project Public Scoping Meetings Scheduled for Sept. 26 and 28; Scoping Process Lasts Until Oct. 31

Four public scoping meetings for the Lake Davis Pike Eradication Project have been scheduled for Sept. 26 in Portola and Sept. 28 in Sacramento, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) said Friday.

Earlier this month, the DFG filed a Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for a proposed Lake Davis pike eradication project. The Plumas National Forest also published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a use permit in support of the DFG proposed project. This begins a public scoping process that will extend through Oct. 31, 2005.

“These scoping sessions highlight the need for public input to ensure that we develop the best possible project in terms of safety, effectiveness and efficiency,” said Dr. Ed Pert, chief of DFG’s Inland Fisheries Division who is also serving as manager for the Lake Davis pike eradication project. “The purpose of scoping is to identify key issues and impacts that the public feels is important for the Department to consider.”

The proposed project would significantly reduce the volume of water in Lake Davis. Approximately 75 percent of the lake’s total volume would be removed, to 10,000-20,000 acre feet, and a liquid version of the fish-killing agent rotenone would be used to eradicate the northern pike from the lake and its upstream tributaries. The proposed project is in addition to DFG’s ongoing northern pike program at Lake Davis, that since 2000 has involved intensive manual removal of northern pike (approximately 55,000 removed), pike containment efforts, outreach and education, enforcement, and fisheries monitoring.

Based on the scoping meetings, a range of reasonable alternatives will be considered. To date, five alternatives have been identified.

Two scoping sessions are scheduled for Monday, Sept. 26 – from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Education Center of the Portola Hospital, 500 First Ave., in Portola. Two sessions will be held on Wednesday Sept. 28, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 500 Leisure Lane, in Sacramento. After the meetings, a draft EIR/EIS will be prepared and circulated sometime next year for public review and comment. In the event a project is approved in late 2006 or early 2007, possible treatment could occur in late summer or early fall 2007.

For more information, visit the DFG northern pike web page at www.dfg.ca.gov/northernpike.