FISHING – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding meetings this month to discuss proposed treatment projects at four Eastern Washington Lakes, including a project at Kings Lake in Pend Oreille County.

Using rotenone to remove existing fisheries and restocking with desired species  would improve trout broodstock production and trout fishing, officials said.

At Kings Lake, which is not open to sport fishing, biologists would remove rainbow trout that are hybridizing with westslope cutthroat trout.

The treatment is needed to maintain the genetic integrity of Kings Lake cutthroat trout, which are the source of hatchery production for fish stocked throughout the eastern region, said Bill Baker, district fish biologist.

After treatment, Kings Lake would be re-stocked with cutthroat. As a broodstock source, the lake will remain closed to fishing, Baker said.

Other rehabilitation projects are proposed for Alta and Fish lakes and Schallow Pond In Okanogan County.

Public meetings in the Spokane region are:

• July 13 in Newport, at Create Art Center, 900 W. 4th St.
• July 14 in Spokane Valley, at the WDFW Eastern Region office, 2315  N. Discovery Place (in Mirabeau Point, between Evergreen and Pines streets)

Rotenone is a naturally-occurring substance derived from the roots of tropical plants. It has been used in lake and stream rehabilitation for more than 60 years by WDFW and other fish and wildlife agencies nationwide. Rotenone is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a fish pesticide, and is regulated in Washington through the state departments of Ecology and Agriculture.