Wish me luck, my well is <100 ft from the lake (grandfathered), this lake is home to heron, huge turtles, bullfrogs, which will also be harmed by their plan.

Common sense is not a common commodity! Peace!

Northern Snakeheads first made their appearance in the lower Potomac in, I believe, 2004. Since that time, there has been no documentation that the Northern Snakehead has progressed into the upper reaches of the Potomac but rather have centered their populations in the lower Potomac near Mount Vernon (just outside of DC). I am from the Potomac Highlands in Pendleton County, WV, and I keep a close watch on this.

In 2004, there was a huge undertaking by both the state and federal agencies to combat the Northern Snakehead in the area where it was found, and entire stetches of the river were rotononed (basically regulated fish kill), to eliminate all fish in the area. I believe this was met with minimal success, due to the presence of lungs in Northern Snakehead. (well duh, rotonone basically removes the oxygen from the water and fish suffocate).

As far as the lungs go, although it is a very primitive lung and it can sustain itself for up to 3 days out of the water. That makes one think..hummmm, in 3 days you can go a long distance…wellllll, keep in mind that Northern Snakehead move from place to place (out of water) by wriggling..in my opinion, much like a carp does when water is low and it moves from pool to pool. This would limit how far they could travel in that 3 day window. Also, keep in mind that in all likelihood, the Northern Snakehead is not going to wander too far from the water since that is where it finds its food source!

Also, to my knowledge, no Northern Snakehead eggs or juveniles have been found in the Potomac Basin, a very important indicator that the species isn’t reproducing in the wild. Some biologists contend that the species is reproducing in open water, and that is the reason no eggs or frye have been located. Could be…all those fish are coming from somewhere. No definitive conclusion has been reached regarding reproductive success. If it were me, and I’m going out on a limb here, I’d monitor ballast water from incoming ships (that is how the zebra mussel got into the Great Lakes). It seems plausible that the fish are getting to the Potomac Basin in the same way.

Currently, the Northern Snakehead is being closely monitored for any change in population or range, and while it is a potential threat to many ecosystems, the situation hasn’t progressed to an imminent threat just yet.

The good news is, Northern Snakehead are considered a delicacy in many Asian cultures, so at least they are edible.

If this had occurred in the mid 1920′s during which time the timber companies had clearcut most of the Potomac Highlands, this wouldn’t be a problem. It was then that the water in the lower reaches of the Potomac were so acidic that it was known to take the hair off of cattle who came to the river to drink (Read “Transforming the Appalachian Countryside” by Ronald L. Lewis..chapter titled “If tree’s could cuss” for more information). This incident is the primary reason the creation of both the Monongahela National Forest and the George Washington National Forest…to protect the downstream reaches of river systems from upstream impacts. I wonder how long it will take for history to repeat itself in regards to MTR and downstream reaches of those affected streams?

(sorry to get off on a tangent in the last paragraph…I like to throw little known historical facts out there into cyberspace…and besides, you all have already read up on the Northern Snakehead!!).