Oregon daily emerald., November 15, 2005, Page 4, Image 4

■ Environment
Poison will wipe
out lake's aquatic
life to kill tui chub
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DIAMOND LAKE — State workers
will begin dropping the level of Dia
mond Lake this month to prepare it
for administration of a poison that
will wipe out its aquatic life to get rid
of an infestation of non-native fish.
The $5.5 million project in the lake
east of Roseburg targets an estimated
90 million tui chub that have altered
the environmental balance of the
popular fishing lake, creating toxic
blooms of algae during the summer
that have closed the lake at times to
most recreational use.
A gate will open at the north end
of the 3,000-acre lake, eventually
dropping the level 8 feet from its 50
foot depth and shrinking the lake to
2,600 acres.
“They're stuck, because
they got such a bio mess,
and it becomes so putrid
it's a health hazard. ”
Bill Bakke | Executive Director of
Portland-based Native Fish Society
In 2006, 65 tons of rotenone, a poi
son, will be added, killing all fish and
aquatic life.
The lake will be restocked with
trout in 2007.
About one half of the fish will sink,
the other half will float in what is
likely to be a smelly, putrid kill-off.
The dead fish will be skimmed off
and possibly used for fish fertilizer.
The once deep-blue waters of the
mile-high lake have clouded in recent
years as the chub proliferated.
Brought in as bait from the Kla
math Basin, the chubs multiplied like
locusts, elbowed out rainbow trout to
the ratio of 200 to 1.
Diamond Lake is one of the most
popular year-round forest retreats in
Oregon. Visitors can chose from
some 500 campsites or Diamond
Lake Lodge.
The Roseburg-based conservation
group Umpqua Watersheds opposed
the plan, likening it to treating Dia
mond Lake as if it were a bathtub to
be drained and filled at will.
Some in the conservation commu
nity support the plan, as long as it is
done carefully.
"They're stuck, because they got
such a bio mess, and it becomes so
putrid it's a health hazard,” said Bill
Bakke, executive director of Portland
based Native Fish Society. "Consider
ing the situation, I do think it is the
right thing to do."
Diamond Lake had no fish in it un
til the state stocked it with trout in
1910 to form a recreational fishery.
The tui chub was introduced in the
mid-1900s, biologists think. The state
lowered the lake and zapped it with
rotenone in 1954 and thought the
problem was solved.
But the fish showed up again in
1992.
Last summer a canal from the
1954 poisoning was excavated
again. The outlet was rebuilt and
crews are installing a new headgate.
The lake will be open for fishing
again in April 2006, and the Diamond
Lake Lodge will remain open year
round. The lake may be closed to the
public briefly in September, when the
rotenone is applied.
Rotenone breaks down quickly
and will be non-detectable within
three to four weeks. No water will
be released until that time after the
fish are killed to prevent problems
downstream.
A commercial fishing firm will be
hired to net as many fish as possible
before the poisoning in September,
then take out the dead fish.
Gwerder: Worked to support his education
Continued from page 1
called 911 and told them Gwerder
was armed and making suicidal
statements on the phone, The
Oregonian newspaper reported.
Police said he had been drinking
alcohol and had a history of ag
gressive behavior when drinking,
the newspaper reported.
Gwerder was a biology student
who had attended the University
since fall 2002 after transferring
from Portland Community College.
This term, he was attending Port
land State University, where he was
taking the first of the last two classes
needed for his bachelor’s degree.
University student Nate Grant,
who worked for years with Gwerder
at Market of Choice near 29th
Avenue and Willamette Street, said
he attended a memorial service for
Gwerder on Saturday and about 60
people attended. About half of them
were his friends, Grant said.
Heather Simmons, a fellow Uni
versity biology student and a friend
of Gwerder, said he had a goofy
sense of humor, even when he intro
duced her to the hot dog stand near
East 13th Avenue and Kincaid
Street, where he often ate.
“He told me: This is your fat and
salt content for the day. You just got
to have one,’” said Simmons, who
got a call from a distraught Gwerder
the day he was killed.
Grant said he first remembers
Gwerder’s sense of humor.
“He was the first to crack a joke,
definitely the center of attention as
far as keeping things lively,” he said.
Simmons said she also remem
bers that, “Ray was a good listener.
He always listened to me for hours
when I had trouble of my own.”
Grant, who met Gwerder about
three years ago, said when
Gwerder spoke individually with
friends, he made them feel like they
were the only important people in
the world, and he was definitely a
morale booster.
Gwerder, a former chef, also once
brought Simmons sausages and po
tatoes while she was the Universi
ty’s Science Library, Simmons said.
His personal favorites were Indian,
Mediterranean and Mexican foods,
and he especially liked burritos,
Simmons said Gwerder also had to
work quite a lot at Market of Choice
to support himself while attending
school full time. Gwerder became
disillusioned with his major and left
Eugene for Portland because he was
unhappy and frustrated here,
Simmons said.
“He was one of those guys who
was trying and was struggling, and
you just really wanted to help him
succeed,” she said.
Director of Undergraduate Advis
ing and Research Assistant Profes
sor Pat Lombardi, who worked with
Gwerder in the biology depart
ment’s advising center, said the loss
of Gwerder’s potential is what
makes him saddest. Gwerder visit
ed the office’s staff two or three
times a week to ask questions and
seek program guidance.
Gwerder became distraught
because he felt like he was never
going to graduate, Lombardi wrote
in an e-mail.
“I think what we are most
deeply saddened by is the tremen
dous loss of potential for a peace
ful person who had (such a) good
heart,” Lombardi wrote. “We were
all so hopeful for him for graduat
ing and taking the next big step in
his life. I am certain he would have
sensed a tremendous sense of ac
complishment in graduating.”
Contact the news editor
at jpaben@dailyemerald. com
Kelly: Mulligan to run for council position
Continued from page 1
council has affected his work as a
teacher at Lane Community College.
City councilors earn a salary of
about $1,000 per month, and some
work other jobs to supplement
their incomes.
So far, only one candidate has
stepped forward to run for Kelly’s
seat — former Eugene Budget Com
mittee chairman Bruce Mulligan.
In his statement, Kelly invited any
possible candidates to contact him
to discuss the job, but he did not
mention Mulligan.
“I hope that someone who
shares my values, my commitment
to this community and the deter
mination to make a difference will
step forward to run for the
position,” Kelly said in the state
ment. “Such an individual would
receive my strong support.”
Mulligan said he has not spoken
with Kelly about the position yet but
feels he has a good understanding of
the work load of a city councelor
from his six years as a member of
the budget committee.
Mulligan didn’t decide to run be
cause of dislike for the way Kelly
was doing his job; rather, he chose
to seek the office to highlight is
sues that are important to him,
Mulligan said.
“I’m not dissatisfied with David,”
Mulligan said. “I wanted to get these
issues out.”
Mulligan hopes to improve access
to health care for low-income
individuals and to set up a committee
to examine projects and funding
options for park area in Eugene.
Mulligan, a Eugene resident since
1980, also sees this as an opportuni
ty to continue to serve his city.
“I really love the city, and it’s
something I want to do to give
back,” Mulligan said.
Mulligan said he respects
anyone who would take on the
work of a councilor.
“My hat’s off to anyone who
serves,” Mulligan said. “It’s a lot of
work for not much more than a
‘Thank you.’”
Contact the city, state politics
reporter at
chagan@ daily emerald, com
Thursday, November 17,2005
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