State to rid Deer Creek Reservoir of shiners

LEWISTON – Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game plan to partially drain and then poison Deer Creek Reservoir next month because of a nonnative fish that threatens the trout fishery.

Biologists say that if the golden shiners aren’t eliminated, they could escape that reservoir and get into the larger Dworshak Reservoir about 10 miles downstream. That reservoir, biologists said, is too big to use poison.

The shiners, which grow up to about 6 inches and compete with trout and kokanee, were found in Deer Creek Reservoir earlier this month.

“This is a resource risk that needs to be dealt with in a very timely fashion,” Ed Schriever, regional fisheries manager for the department at Lewiston, told the Lewiston Tribune. “There is a reason it is illegal to introduce fish or to use live bait and this is the reason.”

Biologists plan to use the chemical rotenone, which kills the fish by attacking their gills.

Robert Hand, a biologist with Fish and Game, said Monday that the rotenone will dissipate within several weeks and leave no toxic byproducts. He said the reservoir will be shut down for at least a month, meaning no water will be released.

“The water in the lake is not used for drinking,” he said. “It’s a purely recreational lake.”

Fish and Game plans to use potassium permanganate to treat Reeds Creek – which connects to Dworshak Reservoir – to neutralize rotenone if it escapes from Deer Creek Reservoir.

Deer Creek Reservoir is popular among anglers for the 14- to 18-inch trout there. However, biologists say there now could be more pounds of shiners than trout in the reservoir. Shiners, native to the Midwest and eastern United States, spawn up to four times a year.

“The establishment of golden shiners will severely reduce the amount of trout the reservoir will produce as well as the growth rate and size those trout will achieve,” said Schriever.

Before the reservoir is drained and poisoned, Fish and Game is expected to issue a salvage order. That order will eliminate bag limits, and remove most restrictions on fish-catching methods.

Fish and Game plans to use gill nets to catch fish, with the trout donated to local food banks.

The department’s law enforcement agents are investigating how the shiners got into the reservoir. One theory is that they were used as bait and escaped.

In Idaho, it is illegal to use live bait. A fine of $10,000 and revocation of fishing and hunting privileges for up to a lifetime are possible penalties for illegally introducing fish in Idaho.