The Daily News

A number of Richland county residents attended an informational meeting Tuesday night at the Wahpeton Community Center to see what can be done about the viability of Mooreton Lake as a fishing resource.

Gene VanEeckhout from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department was on hand for a presentation and discussion with the group.

In April, VanEeckhout was in Mooreton along with Michael Ell with the North Dakota State Health Department, gave a report on the lake, and said it was clean and safe for swimming.

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But, the cleanliness was not good for the production of fish because of a lack of nutrients in the water.

Since April 30, the Game and Fish Department has stocked Lake Mooreton with over 2,700 fingerling rainbow trout, 6,000 fingerling walleye and 40,000 fat head minnows.

It is hoped that the fingerlings can feed on the minnows until a permanent solution is found to improve the food chain in the lake, starting with algae growth.

At Thursday's meeting VanEeckhout outlined some of the steps that can be taken to improve the quality of fishing in Lake Mooreton.

"I don't think we're going to correct this overnight," VanEeckhout said. "This has been a 30 year problem in the making."

The problem is with artesian water that is flowing into the lake.

The water travels underground from the Black Hills area and moves east, picking up minerals along the way.

As the water feeds into Lake Mooreton, it has high concentrations of minerals that inhibit plant growth, which is a source of food for the fish to feed off of.

Many plans were discussed, including pumping fresh water from the nearby Antelope Creek to refresh Lake Mooreton.

VanEeckhout said it would be a long and expensive process.

"The biggest hang-up will be getting everyone on board. Land owners, water boards and township boards. Because there is a lot of paperwork."

A plan considered at the April meeting would be to spray finely chopped alfalfa on the lake to promote algae growth and provide food for smaller fish.

VanEeckhout reported that the Garrison Fishery uses that method and spreads 200 pounds of the alfalfa on its one-and-a-half-acre pond every three days.

At $300 per ton for the alfalfa, the amount of material needed to improve the 40 acre Lake Mooreton had some wondering about the cost and the potential of harming the swimming beach in the process.

"I don't think it would have an impact on the beach by spraying the alfalfa on the lake," VanEeckhout said. "But I wouldn't spray it near the beach either. You could wait for a day when the wind would blow it in the other direction."

Another option would be to eradicate the lake and try to start clean in the fall.

VanEeckhout will be back in the fall to see how the fingerlings are doing.

In the meantime, the Red River Sportsman's club and other groups will be working with area land owners and residents to see if there are other ideas to be considered and how soon a plan can be put in action.

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