Home » Fishing » Rotenone to remove common carp in Pelican Lake renovation

Rotenone to remove common carp in Pelican Lake renovation

LINCOLN, Neb. – Rotenone will be applied Sept. 6 at Pelican Lake on the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) south of Valentine to remove common carp.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will apply rotenone, which is a toxicant often used by biologists to eliminate unwanted fish species, as part of the renovation of the lake.

In recent months, liberalized fishing regulations have allowed anglers to remove many sport fish from Pelican, and some sport fish were salvaged and moved to other waters. All fish remaining in Pelican will be eliminated with the rotenone treatment. Re-stocking of sport fish will begin later this fall or next spring.

This project is part of a larger Aquatic Habitat Rehabilitation project on the Valentine NWR in Cherry County by Game and Parks and the USFWS. The goals of the project are to improve water quality and fish and waterfowl habitat by eliminating common carp and preventing their re-invasion. Water control structures, diking and dredging are other components of the project that have been completed.

Roads to Pelican Lake are closed until the rotenone application is completed.

About Jerry Kane

Jerry Kane is the news manager with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. He can be contacted at jerry.kane@nebraska.gov or 402-471-5008.

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