OLYMPIA - State fishery managers will host four public meetings in late July to discuss proposals to treat three lakes in eastern Washington with rotenone, a naturally occurring pesticide commonly used to remove undesirable fish species from lakes and streams.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is proposing to treat Badger Lake in Spokane County, Spectacle Lake in Okanogan County, and the Hampton and Pillar-Widgeon Lake chains in Grant County this fall to remove species ranging from bass and bullhead to stunted panfish.

The Pillar-Widgeon chain is made up of 10 waters, including: Pillar, Snipe, Cattail, Gadwall, Poacher, Lemna, Shoveler, Sago, Hourglass and the Widgeons. The Hampton Chain is made up of Upper and Lower Hampton, Hampton Slough, Hen, Dabbler, Marie and three small, unnamed ponds.

"The goal is to restore trout populations by removing competing species that have essentially taken over," said Bruce Bolding, WDFW warmwater fish program manager. "Illegally stocked fish compete with trout fry for food and prey, rendering efforts to stock trout fry ineffective."

Public meetings to discuss the lake treatments proposed by WDFW are scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. on the following dates at the following locations:

July 18 - Ephrata , at the WDFW Region 2 Office, 1550 Alder St. N.W.
July 29 - Olympia , at the Natural Resource Building, 1111 Washington St., Room 175.
July 30 - Tonasket , at the City Hall Council Chamber, 209 S. Whitcomb.
July 31 - Cheney, at the Cheney Library, 610 1st St.

In addition to input received at the public meetings, WDFW will consider written comments received through Aug. 23. Comments should be addressed to Bruce Bolding, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091.

Final consideration of the proposals will be made by the WDFW director in early September.