Liberty Lake Residents Against Poisoning Of Pest Fish

Memories of scads of dead fish are still fresh in the minds of many Liberty Lake property owners.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, state biologists used a substance called rotenone to kill off many of the fish in the lake so it could be restocked with native rainbow trout.

The treatment left gobs of fish floating on the surface and sinking to the bottom of the 711-acre Spokane Valley lake. The experience was less than pleasant for residents.

“We had fish up to our butts for a month,” resident Stan Chalich told a panel of state fish experts Wednesday night. “It reeked.”

Officials with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife are considering several options for improving the trout fishing at the lake.

They include applying rotenone and starting over to introducing a predator species to help control perch.

Most residents who attended Wednesday’s public meeting on the future of the Liberty Lake fishery agreed with Chalich.

“Any shocking of the lake with rotenone is not a good idea,” said Chris Bowers, a member of the Liberty Lake Property Owners Association.

Only one person thought it was a good idea.

There were plenty of other suggestions for helping the rainbows, which are having a hard time competing with a burgeoning perch population in what was once one of Eastern Washington’s premier trout lakes.

People advocated stocking the lake with walleye or tiger musky, opening the lake to year-round fishing or just leaving it alone.

The walleye option, the one recommended by state biologists, received the most support.

“That seems to be the most inexpensive and viable solution for improving the fishery,” said Dick Lee, a member of the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council.

Biologists think the walleye will eat many of the small perch in the lake, thereby taking some of the pressure off the rainbow trout and allowing them to grow larger in size and population.

The move also would provide more opportunities for anglers to use the lake.

But some people weren’t big fans of that idea.

“Walleye are about as exciting to catch as an old shoe,” said Paul Shields, who lives at the lake and often fishes it.

Shields wants the lake stocked with and managed for trophy-sized trout.

“That would generate some excitement,” he said.

Other anglers suggested introducing tiger musky into the lake.

The sterile predator fish already has been stocked in Newman Lake. Tiger muskies are quite aggressive and are prized by some people who fish for sport.

“It’s going to be like putting a hit man in the lake,” said Joel Nania, lake resident and avid fisherman.

Resident Kerry Masters said the fishery is fine now.

“It’s not broke. Don’t fix it,” Masters said.

Fish and Wildlife officials are expected to announce a new management plan for the lake by early October.

They will accept written comments through Sept. 18. Letters can be mailed to Ray Duff, Senior Fish Biologist, Department of Fish and Wildlife, 8702 N. Division, Spokane, WA 99218.

Ranch Park water

The state Boundary Review Board will hold a hearing Monday on a proposal to extend public water lines to 670 acres south of the Valley.

Some property owners in and around the Ranch Park subdivision asked Vera Irrigation District No. 15 to annex the land, nearly 400 acres of which is undeveloped.

Homes in the area now get water from private wells.

Spokane County officials oppose the annexation, saying it will open the way for intense development in an area where roads are inadequate.

The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room of the county Public Works Building, 1026 W. Broadway.

Newman Lake water

Officials with the Moab Irrigation District are moving forward with a request to extend water lines to 230 acres on the west shore of Newman Lake.

District manager Kathy Small said Moab officials plan to file their intention to act on the request with the state Boundary Review Board very soon. That is likely to prompt a public hearing in mid-October.

“The people that want the project are still behind it,” Small said.

Several property owners on the west shore requested the annexation, which has caused a controversy in the lake community.

Some residents feel the move will lead to increased development and degradation of the lake’s water quality.

Those who support the annexation say their water, which many get from private wells or the lake itself, is suspect and a threat to health.

, DataTimes