The aerator that was removed from Higgins Lake last summer, and then replaced after a residential outcry, has been pulled out of the lake again.
On Aug. 1, 2012, Higgins Lake resident Laurie Hill and her neighbours where shocked when the lake’s aerator was “permanently” removed by a Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO) contractor.
With no aerator pumping in dissolved oxygen, Hill said she knew it was likely all the fish in the shallow lake (near Deka Lake) would die during winter ice-over.
Then, Hill enlisted the help of Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett who quickly took the issue to Victoria.
Former MFLNRO Minister Steven Thomson then reassessed the decision and directed staff to reinstall the Higgins Lake aerator and fund its operation for at least one more year.
This was confirmed by MFLNRO on Aug. 13, and the aerator was reinstalled in Higgins Lake on Sept. 23.
Now, Hill is once again dismayed after receiving a June 10 letter from MFLNRO director of resource operations Rodger Stewart noting the ministry “can no longer justify the expense of maintaining an aerator in Higgins Lake.”
His letter stated the equipment will not be reinstalled during the normal fall lake management regime prior to freeze-up, but rather the lake will be stocked with catchable-sized trout each spring.
However, Hill continues to bemoan the loss of the “great” fishing for “nice-sized” fish in the lake, as well as potential drop in house values.
“What a waste of time, all of the effort that myself, a few others and Donna [Barnett], especially, put into getting the aerators back into the lake.”
Last week, Barnett said she will investigate the matter and bring answers back to the area residents shortly.
“I will be working to do what is best for the lake and the fish, and if it is leaving aerator there, then I will fight like crazy and keep [it] there. Common sense has to prevail; it’s all about the integrity of the lake and the fish.”
Despite the potential impacts on waterfront property values and tourism, she isn’t too surprised to see the end of last year’s stop-gap measure, Barnett added.
However, it seems she isn’t prepared to let the issue die along with the fish.
“A lot of times we get back to ‘square 1’ before we get these things permanently resolved.”
Four other shallow lakes in Cariboo Region 5 – Irish, Simon, Dewar and Skulow lakes – were also slated to have their aerators removed last summer, but that was headed off after Barnett got involved.
Now, Stewart said those other lakes are not affected by MFLNRO’s latest decision, as it wants to reduce fishery management costs while investing in lakes with demonstrated higher returns.
“That’s where we want to focus the investments; it looks like we can get the returns from there. Irish Lake is longstanding [in these returns] – so is Skulow – and we are seeing some pretty spectacular results.”
In looking for this “investment return,” he explained FLNRO considers a sufficient number of anglers fishing these lakes as recognition of the economic viability of aerators.
Some lakes with no aerators that are currently stocked with “catchable” trout produce two-pound trout through the ice before any potential winter-kill happens, Stewart noted.
MacIntyre Lake in the Chilcotin is one of those, he said, which currently has four- to five-pound trout as it escaped this oxygen-starvation last season.
Once they have heard Barnett’s reply, Hill said Higgins Lake residents will likely meet with her again and, hopefully, FLNRO representatives, to further discuss the issue.
