FISHING – A proposal for using rotenone to restore Badger Lake into a standout trout-fishing lake will be presented at a public meeting on at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, at the Spokane County Public Library, 610 First St. in Cheney.

The treatment would rid the lake of bass, pumpkinseed sunfish, brown bullheads and tench so that cutthroat and rainbow trout can be restored.

The infestation of spiny-ray fish has dramatically reduced the number of trout the state can successfully stock in what traditionally has been one Washington's top trout lakes.  The infestation also is affecting the fishery downstream at popular Williams Lake.

Public comment will be taken at the meeting by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff. If approved, the treatment could be done late this fall for trout stocking in time for fishing seasons that opens in April 2016.

Rotenone is an organic substance derived from the roots of tropical plants which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved for use as a fish pesticide. It has been used by WDFW in lake and stream rehabilitations for more than 70 years, and is commonly used by other fish and wildlife management agencies nationwide.

The department is also proposing to treat a five-mile section of Smalle Creek in Pend Oreille County to remove non-native eastern brook trout in order to restore a population of native westslope cutthroat.

A meeting on that project is set for Wednesday, 6 p.m., July 29, at the American Legion Post, 150 E. Timber St. in Cusick.

A decision on the proposals will be made by the agency’s director in early September.

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