Watershed board targets carp with two-pronged attack

Kari Lucin, The Daily Globe, Worthington, Minn.
·2 min read

Jan. 7—WORTHINGTON — Carp remain on the hit list for the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District Board of Managers, because they uproot vegetation and harm water quality.

The board agreed Tuesday to ask University of Minnesota startup Carp Solutions to help deal with the problem, and also decided to again ask commercial fisherman Scott Deslauriers to sein Lake Okabena and eliminate at least some of the rough fish from the equation.

Attempts to sein the carp out of Lake Okabena have historically not been extremely successful, as the lake presents challenges for any commercial fishing operation, explained Administrator Dan Livdahl.

Lake Bella is narrow enough to stretch a net across it and catch everything in one go, but Lake Okabena is too wide for that. While usually fish go dormant when the oxygen levels in a lake drop during the winter, Lake Okabena is high in oxygen and the fish stay active — and evasive.

Deslauriers pulled more than 8,000 pounds of rough fish from Lake Okabena in December, plus 20,000 pounds from Lake Bella in November, but most of them were buffalo fish.

In other news Tuesday, the watershed board:

* Set their budget for 2022, which includes revenues of $320,750 and a total expenditure of $368,457.87. The difference of $47,707.87 will be withdrawn from the watershed district's fund balance.

* Discussed the potential District 518 pond project, and noted that it was up to the school to move forward with it. If built, a pond located on the school's Crailsheim Road site near the new Intermediate School could potentially stop one-third of the phosphorus and two-thirds of the silt that currently pours into Lake Okabena each year.

* Learned that Lake Ocheda's level has remained steady, as water continues to flow out of it.

* Is seeking volunteers to serve on its advisory board, which meets once a year, though some members do attend occasional meetings of the Board of Managers. Livdahl described the advisory board as "a group of citizens that keeps an eye on us."