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TFM (88-30-2). News reports in the Press-Republican, Plattsburg, New York.

August 1, 2002

Press Republican (Plattsburg, New York)

Vermont has lamprey-control go-ahead

http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2002/10_2002/100120027.htm

BURLINGTON Ñ The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has the green light to proceed with lamprey control this fall.

On Friday, the department received the last of the permits it needed in order to control sea lampreys in Lewis Creek within the next few weeks.

"This is great news for Lake Champlain anglers and for those of us here at the Fish & Wildlife Department," Vermont Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Ronald Regan said in a news release.

The permit, issued by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, allows Fish & Wildlife to apply a controlled amount of a lamprey-control agent called TFM to Lewis Creek to kill immature sea lampreys before they migrate downstream into Lake Champlain.

The permit imposed several conditions in order to protect other species of fish and wildlife and to protect people who may use Lewis Creek water:

Lamprey control with TFM has already started on the New York side of the lake.

August 3, 2001

Press Republican (Plattsburg, New York)

http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2001/08_2001/080320015.htm

New lampricide direction

New York, in off year, sets sights on Vermont

By JEFF MEYERS, Staff Writer

PLATTSBURGH Ñ New York has no lamprey-control treatments planned for this fall, but state experts are helping Vermont plan for treating tributaries there.

Ever since an eight-year, experimental lamprey-treatment program ended in 1997, New York officials have continued treating Lake Champlain tributaries on a rotating schedule.

During the initial phase, New York, Vermont and federal representatives treated tributaries once every four years, doing a handful of streams one year and moving onto another group the next.

On the fourth and eighth years, officials did not treat any streams but evaluated the programÕs success.

This fall will mark the fourth year since the program ended, so New York will not be treating any tributaries with liquid lampricide.

No treatments in vermont

Vermont has lagged behind in treatments. That stateÕs Department of Environmental Conservation is dependent upon federal funding to continue lamprey control, so no treatments have been conducted in Vermont since the initial treatments ended.

That means some Vermont tributaries have suffered large amounts of lamprey infestation.

Adult lampreys lay eggs in river sediments, and the lamprey larvae live in the river bottom for several years before transforming into adults and returning to Lake Champlain to feed on the bodily fluids of fish.

Tests on mussels

As Vermont officials await approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a long-term plan to control lampreys in Lake Champlain, New York has volunteered to help Vermont plan for its next treatment.

"This has been a cooperative effort for a long time," said Lawrence Nashett, acting regional fisheries manager for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation in Ray Brook.

"A new set of permits are needed for initiating sea-lamprey control in Vermont. Among their concerns is a desire to have a complete knowledge of the toxicity of TFM (the chemical used to treat tributaries) on mussel species."

One of the major concerns in Vermont has been the impact chemical treatment may have on native muscles living in the stateÕs rivers and streams. Because of zebra-mussel infestation in Lake Champlain, many native mussels have been crowded out.

"Vermont has designated many native mussels as threatened or endangered," Nashett said. "Anticipating that, weÕve offered our expertise with toxicity testing."

Two top-level toxicity experts from New YorkÕs DEC will be conducting tests on several species of mussels to identify the level of TFM needed to kill them. The state hopes to prove that the level used to kill sea lampreys is well below toxicity levels for mussels.

"In the past, it has been documented that TFM applied at normal treatment levels is very safe for mussels," Nashett said. "These tests will bear that fact more completely."

None of the mussels being used for the toxicity tests Ñ being done in a state lab in Rome Ñ come from Lake Champlain, Nashett added.

Impact statement

New York and Vermont recently completed a draft environmental-impact statement on long-term treatment in Lake Champlain.

A final statement will soon be submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will make a determination on the next steps for treating lampreys in the lake.

If that ruling is favorable toward a long-term plan, Vermont could begin treatments this fall in Lewis Creek, toward the south of Lake Champlain. Like many Vermont streams, Lewis Creek now has a high number of sea-lamprey larvae.

That would also pave the way for treating other Vermont streams that have become lamprey havens during the continued treatment of New York streams.

Jeff Meyers can be reached by e-mail: jmeyers@pressrepublican.com 

May 12, 2002

Press Republican (Plattsburg, New York)
http://www.pressrepublican.com/outdoors/lib/05122002out1.htm

The lamprey control quagmire continues

By DENNIS APRILL, Outdoors Columnist

Tuesday evening, May 14, might decide the direction and even the outcome of effective lamprey control efforts for Lake Champlain. At a hearing in the Ferrisburg (Vermont) High School starting at 6:30 p.m., Vermont Fish and Wildlife will request a treatment permit for Lewis Creek. The anti-lampricide forces are expected to be out in force.

Two key opposition groups - the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) and Vermont Audubon - have already filed a court injunction to stop the treatments, scheduled to start this fall, even though Vermont F & W has already lowered the dosage concentration in an attempt to placate opponents.

This is only the proverbial "tip of the iceberg," as there are charges of conflict of interest coming from pro-lamprey control forces. One of the leaders in Vermont is James Ehlers, the editor of "Outdoors" magazine, formerly "Vermont Outdoors."

Ehlers points his finger at the law firm of Dunkiel, Shems and Kassel as evidence. "VPIRG, which is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to stop lamprey control, employs the services of attorney Brian Dunkiel. Dunkiel is a partner of attorney and former Vermont Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources John Kassel. Under KasselÕs regime, 1998-2000, lamprey control never took place."

HereÕs another "coincidence,"Ehlers points out: The Federal Environmental Protection Agency urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to work with the Nature Conservancy in implementing the lamprey program. According to Ehlers, Warren King, who has a leading role with the Vermont Nature Conservancy, is, as Ehlers states, "the same individual who is suing the U.S. F&W Service as vice chair of the Audubon Society, and is the same individual that is supposed to be advising the Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources."

Confusing? Yes - then throw in the mudpuppy, a large amphibian (I ran a picture of one found two years ago floating dead in Kings Bay), which VPIRG would like to see put on the Vermont Endangered Species List for, as Ehlers sees it, another ploy to stop lamprey control, and it is clear that getting viable lamprey control in Vermont waters is going to be quite a task.

As such, Bill Wellman of the Lake Champlain Chapter of Trout Unlimited is urging car pools to Ferrisburg. For information on getting to Ferrisburg High School or car-pooling, call Wellman at 563-1985 or e-mail wellmanw@westelcom.com.

Dennis AprillÕs e-mail address is: daprill@frontiernet.net