Northern Snakehead Fish Eradication Plan
Temporary fish barriers have been placed by DEC staff in several locations along Catlin Creek to slow the movement of adult and juvenile fish further downstream. The culvert under Route 6 has been affixed with a fish barrier in cooperation with NYS Department of Transportation.
The outlet from the dam at Ridgebury Lake has been partially blocked in order to increase the volume in the lake to aid DEC personnel to boat around the lake and treat the water most effectively with CFT Legumine (a fish pesticide). Also see Ridgebury Lake release plan below.
Starting two days before treatment with CFT Legumine, Hyde Pond (located immediately upstream of the Route 6 culvert) will be pumped as low as possible. The water will be filtered before it is discharged back into Catlin Creek in case there are Northern Snakehead present in Hyde Pond. This will create a retention basin where treated water from Ridgebury Lake and Catlin Creek can accumulate while it detoxifies.
The day before treatment with CFT Legumine, a DEC Command post will be organized in a location such as behind the Town Hall. This will be the headquarters for project organization, coordination and communication.
Also on the day before treatment, DEC staff will post signs along the shorelines of waters to be treated with notification of exact dates of treatment and prohibited activities.
On the day of treatment with CFT Legumine, DEC will construct small sand bag dams in two sections of wetland MD-26 and at another small in-stream pond below Ridgebury Lake. This will provide additional retention for treated water to detoxify.
Early in the morning on the first day of treatment DEC staff will use back pack sprayers to apply CFT Legumine to the small amount of water remaining in Hyde Pond, Catlin Creek, Wetland MD-26 and the small ponds below Ridgebury Lake. Much of this will be done on foot, but the use of some small boats and canoes may also be used for some portions of the ponded areas. Centrifugal pumps may also be used in ponded areas and drip feeders in spring seeps and short stream sections.
Blocking nets may be set in Catlin Creek to aid in the capture of fish near road crossing. DEC staff will also be walking the stream and through wetland areas collecting dead fish.
Ridgebury Lake will be treated on the first day of treatment if at all possible. If treatment occurs on the first day, it will consolidate the initial treatment period into one day. This may occur first thing in the morning, or early in the afternoon on the first day. If the decision is made to treat Ridgebury Lake on the second day, the treatment will start first thing in the morning.
Depending on conditions at the time of treatment, some treated water may be released from Ridgebury Lake with the intent that it will help to inundate the wetland areas as an added measure to assure good coverage of this entire area.
Crews will be scheduled in shifts to collect fish throughout Ridgebury Lake and downstream areas throughout daylight hours. Dead fish will be brought to a dump truck that will be parked near the Ridgebury Lake dam. DEC staff will be stationed at this location to sort fish and collect data. This will continue as necessary. It is expected that most fish will show up within a few days after treatment.
Water testing will occur throughout the treatment period and for the days following in order to assess that appropriate concentrations of CFT Legumine have been applied and when it is low enough to allow the release of this water outside the treated area.
In the unlikely situation where the release of treated water is imminent after treatment, the concentration of rotenone will be measured in the water and the appropriate amount of potassium permanganate (as per label instructions) will be used to detoxify the water as it leaves Hyde Pond.
Once the concentration of water has reached a level where it is safe to release downstream all sand bag dams will be removed.
