DICKINSON, N.D. - After months of applying chemicals to rivers and streams in the area, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department has scheduled the fish in Patterson Lake to be eradicated Thursday.
"You can draw a circle for about 10 miles north of the interstate and about 10 miles south of the interstate over to highway 85, and all the streams in there is what we've eradicated so far," said Jeff Hendrickson, southwest district fishery supervisor for NDGF. "It's been a lot of work. It's a big project."
Most of the fish in Patterson Lake were killed during the harsh winter last year and all that was left were carp and bullheads, Hendrickson said.
"Without any game fish, there's really no competition to give to the non-desirable fish," said Leroy Schmitt, president of the Southwest Anglers. "What they've experienced this year with the non-desirables that were remaining in the lake was a population explosion."
Hendrickson said NDGF is heading up the cleanup effort on Saturday to rid the lake of dead fish. The Southwest Anglers plan to help, and Hendrickson said anyone else can volunteer to help.
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Patterson Lake and its shores were covered with dead fish in the spring, after harsh winter weather created a natural fish kill.
"It won't be as difficult as it was this spring (to clean up), because there won't be as many fish," Hendrickson said.
About 50,000 game fish were stocked at Patterson Lake this year, Hendrickson said.
"We stocked Northerns this year, just in case we didn't get a chance to eradicate it and they did really well," Hendrickson said. "We moved a bunch of them to the river here in town. So we moved altogether about 500 Northerns to the river and about 500 to Mirror Lake down by Hettinger."
NDGF has been using a liquid form of a chemical called Rotenone to kill fish in rivers, but will switch to the powder form of the chemical for Patterson Lake since it's cheaper, Hendrickson said.
"It suffocates the fish," Hendrickson said. "There's still oxygen in the water, the fish just can't breathe. It affects their physiology so they can't breathe anymore."
Other animals that eat the fish that died as a result of the chemical will not be harmed, Hendrickson said.
"It's not recommended that humans do it, because the FDA has never tested humans," Hendrickson said.
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He added the lake will be closed while the chemical is being applied. Dogs should not be allowed around the lake for about two weeks, Hendrickson said.
The lake was drained to a depth of about 24 feet, which is 11 feet below full pool, Hendrickson said. No more water will be drained and the lake should fill up next spring, he added.
The NDGF will begin stocking Patterson Lake with fish next year, but Hendrickson said it will take about two years before the fish get large.
"This will only enhance the recreation opportunities for people of southwestern North Dakota," Schmitt said of the eradication effort. "We're really excited about this opportunity."
