octo2195 t1_j8931tf wrote on February 12, 2023 at 3:58 PM

The sterile grass carp were never intended to reproduce, hence being sterile. This is a program modeled on the one (first in the state) at Ball Pond in New Fairfield, CT which has been very successful.

The deep draw down has been done in the past on Candlewood Lake to expose the plant life along the shore to cold air to help control the weeds. The draw down to make repairs will most likely not have any major impact on the plant life along the shore this year as it is no where near as cold as necessary to be effective.

Workingmomof3boys OP t1_j8b6wn7 wrote on February 13, 2023 at 12:48 AM

My point about the drawdown is that leaving more of the lakebed exposed will not help the regeneration of plant life. We don't want more milfoil control right now; we need some regeneration of plant growth. The carp, which have all grown a lot larger, are eating any plants in the lake bed as they grow. That means no habitat for juvenile bass fish and the possibility of more nutrients left unused in the lake, which could lead to toxic algae blooms. Hopefully, it will be manageable, but it would be better if we did not have to have a deep drawdown this year. The introduction of the sterile grass carp was well-intentioned, but we just introduced too many, which left the lake with almost zero plant life right now.