I read with interest and dismay two unrelated but similar items in the Hunting and Fishing feature in the Thursday, May 31, Spokesman-Review.

The first dealt with the Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) effort to “suppress” Walleye in Lake Pend Oreille to protect the Kokanee population in that lake. The second dealt with action by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to poison Eastern Brook Trout to protect Westslope Cutthroat Trout.

I don’t know enough about the WDFW action to comment on it, however I am deeply concerned with the IDFG activity on Lake Pend Oreille. A number of dedicated Sandpoint-area sportsmen are very concerned with the viability of the Walleye fishery in the northern portions of Lake Pend Oreille. These Fish and Game actions, following the IDFG suppression of lake trout in Lake Pend Oreille and the apparent plan to do the same at Priest Lake reveal a disturbing pattern. That is - the killing of a game fish species as an early option in fishery management.

I certainly won’t argue that the recovery of the Kokanee population in Pend Oreille is not a good thing – it is a good thing. However, I question the basis for concluding the walleye are a significant threat to the Kokanee. The walleye provide a quality fishing option for Lake Pend Oreille anglers and deserve better management than death in a gill net.

A number of us have tried to engage our IDFG representatives and our commissioners on this subject. These personnel, who supposedly work for us, have been less than responsive and forthright in responding to our questions regarding their objectives and methods. If nothing else, this Walleye killing is completely premature as a fishery management action. The Fishery Management Plan is due to be reviewed and revised this summer; the process of developing this plan is where actions of this magnitude should be fully considered and researched, to include the solicitation of the opinions and preferences of the sporting citizens of the area.

This process has been bypassed and the result has been the killing of over 1,300 Walleye on their spawning shoals in a short period of time in the last two months. We look forward to participating in a legitimate process to develop the Fisheries Management Plan for the Panhandle Region and Lake Pend Oreille.

Brad DeAustin

Sandpoint