JOHN DAY – Visitors to Magone Lake are reporting a large number of dead crayfish in the lake, Malheur National Forest officials said this week.
Allen Taylor, Blue Mountain District Fish Biologist made a visit to the lake north of John Day to look into the reports.
“I observed hundreds of dead crayfish along the lakeshore, in water three feet or more in depth,” said Taylor. “I would estimate their numbers to be in the tens of thousands.”
The crayfish is an invertebrate commonly known as the “crawdad.” No dead fish were observed and officials have not received any reports of a fish kill.
This die-off may be related to a natural event known as “lake turnover,” potentially intensified by unnatural levels of aquatic vegetation. Lake turnover occurs on many large and/or deep bodies of water, and refers to the exchange of surface and bottom water.
Additional visits to the lake will be made by specialists from Malheur National Forest and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife plan to make additional visits to the lake to pinpoint a cause.
For further information please visit www.fs.usda.gov/malheur or call 541-575-3000.
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