I’m a strong believer in the idea that this planet wasn’t made for humans; humans were made for this planet. No object, plant or animal, was created to serve people; I think everything works in harmony to support and serve each other.
The Pike population has recently become a problem in Sierra Lake, located in Sacramento County. Based on previous reports, California State Wildlife authorities have dumped poison into Sierra Lake as an attempt to exterminate as many unwanted Pike as possible.
Reasons why the Wildlife authorities do not want Pike in Sierra Lake and are using poison to flush them out:
1. The invading fish are considered to be a threat to the salmon runs in northern California.
2. The intrusive fish drive away the salmon, in-turn driving away the anglers and negatively affecting the local economy.
3. There is a lack of ideas to rid the fish from the lake.
4. The pike have potential to move into the San Joaquin River Delta and affect the endangered species.
With that in mind, I had to ask myself why the people in this area felt the take over of the pikes was such a negative happening. Why can’t people accept the fact that humans have advanced as a culture, and because of that advance have affected all surroundings, including Sierra Lake, and are most likely to blame?
It could be possible that nature is trying to adjust to the changes humans have implemented on the planet. One side-affect of that adjustment is pike in Sierra Lake. The planet is a touchy environment and should be treated with care. If poisoning the lake kills the pike what other affects are taking place? What is the poison is causing a similar incident in another area.
The reason for poisoning is simple; the surrounding lake areas are loosing money due to the lack of salmon, once an attraction and money making aspect for the community. The people in this community have put their own livelihood in front of the livelihood of the planet and have prioritized the lack of salmon over the wellness of the planet.
I know everyone needs money, and all communities have to do what they can to keep the economy flowing, but maybe the earth is a more powerful entity then basic economics.
The Wildlife authorities poisoned the lake once before in 1997, and the pikes returned 18 months later. What makes authorities believe poisoning a second time will work more efficiently, and what about the poison going into our fresh water system?
I think people need to realize that this isn’t a local small town issue; this is a national issue, if not global. How much poison will we allow into the lake before we realize that outside areas will be affected, or before we realize that pollutants like this are most likely the reason occurrences such as the pike take over crop up?
Some things need to be accepted as failures. Humans can’t win every battle against mother earth. If we could we would have destroyed the planet a long time ago. I think these people need to stop worrying about the fish and start concentrating on others ways of bringing money into their community. Adding more poison to the water isn’t the greatest way to attract more people with money to a community.
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2 comments:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid the situation is far more complicated than you described it. I could be wrong, but if it is Lake Davis you are talking about... in Plumas County, then this link should help. I have never heard of Sierra Lake in Sacramento County.
First, the pike are not naturally occurring - someone (a human) planted them there illegally. It is illegal for a good reason - they are voracious predators eating every other kind of fish in the lake. They are wiping out the native trout population (probably the salmon too, but they haven't been in the news as much).
The eradication was not successful in the past because the efforts were not aggressive enough, in part because of the tree-huggers and in part because the locals need the lake for the local economy - an economy that depends on recreation as well as fishing. When the lake is full of fish poison and dead fish, no one really wants to water ski on it.
This time the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is aggressively going after the pike… in the deep water as well as the lakes tributaries. If the pike were to migrate into the delta, it would be an environmental disaster of unprecedented proportion.
We can argue about the poison all day, but the data shows that it kills only fish and is safe for humans and other wild life. Although I too am skeptical of this "official" statement, the risk of not acting if far greater than that of environmentalists' rhetoric and fear mongering. It's not just about the local economy.
It is as simple as that. Where the pike go, everything else dies.
The column does take a big credibility hit for having the wrong lake.
Ouch!
But the other arguments put forth raise the debate, which is good.
This particular situation is one I have followed - and written about several times.
Interesting to see it approached as sort of a global problem, people vs. Mother Nature.
I thought this sentence was particularly interesting:
"Humans can’t win every battle against mother earth."
When I studied environmental science years ago, my professor frequently told us that "Mother Nature always bats last."
The people of Lake Davis better learn how to fish for Northern Pike and the Department of Fish & Game should stop putting thousands of trout fingerlings in the lake every spring.
All the DFG is doing is feeding the very fish they say they need to kill.
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