It is completely unnecessary and a waste of taxpayer dollars for the City of St Albert to pour a chemical toxin, Rotenone, into Lacombe Lake to destroy a few goldfish. Lacombe Lake is a man-made lake, that does not feed into any other bodies of water and there are no native fish in it. It is stocked with a few trout but this is no 'trophy fishing' lake – it is fished for trout only on occasion by the occasional fisherman. What I have frequently noticed is that children (including my own) enjoy catching and releasing crayfish, while numerous dog owners allow their dogs to swim and play in this beloved lake. After a 30-second internet search, I found posted on a Cornell University website the following ... "Dogs fed low to moderate doses of rotenone for 28 days experienced vomiting and excessive salivation. Dogs fed rotenone for 6 months at low doses had reduced food consumption and therefore reduced weight gain. At necropsy, the most frequent lesions were bleeding patches in the small intestine." (http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/pyrethrins-ziram/rotenone-ext.html) As a parent and dog owner who lives near Lacombe Lake, I will be complaining about this issue to the City Environment Director Leah Kongsrude. No city staffer should be able to make a unilateral decision to poison this small community lake just to kill a few goldfish. I hope other St. Albert citizens feel the same way and follow suit. Audri Kowalyk, St. Albert
