I spoke with Mr. John Sager yesterday. He informed me that they did take water samples and sediment samples around the Osceola Gun club this fall. They are analyzing all the samples and speaking with some specialists regarding these samples. John said there was lead found in both the water samples and the sediment samples. However, the sediment samples were considerable higher than the water samples. He does not want to release more information than that at this time. He wants to wait until the experts look over the results and analyze the situation. When that is done, he will have a meeting with the Osceola Rod and Gun Club, the Lotus Lake Association, and anyone else who is interested in this situation. He is thinking the meeting will be sometime in December. John will call me with the details as soon as he has them.

John also said that he would be willing to come to the next Lake Association meeting to go over this situation with the members.

Trishia Carlson

I called regarding the sign posted at the boat landing regarding no carp fishing. I spoke with Marty Engel in the Baldwin DNR office. His phone number is (715) 684-2914 ext. 110. He informed me the sign is due to the viral disease called Spring Viremia of Carp (SVC) found in Cedar Lake. They are taking all the precautionary actions to control the disease. They are posting these signs to all of Cedar Lake's connecting waters. Marty tells me this is a very rare disease. It has been only found two places in the country, North Carolina and Cedar Lake. They are doing numerous tests to determine the effect of this disease. However, the testing is done in England, so it is quite a timely process. There is no one in the United States that does this testing.

The testing has not been completed yet, so they do not know much about the disease. However, Marty assured me that this disease only affects cold-blooded animals. So, if a dog or cat were to eat a dead carp lying on the beach, if would not affect them. In lab testing, it has been shown to transfer to the minnow family. This is why they are going to put a minnow harvesting ban on the same waters. These signs should be posted shortly.

The DNR is allowed to post the sign for only 180 days. After 180 days, they have to re-evaluate the situation and make a decision on their next step. That could be a continuation of the current situation if that is what they feel needed.

Marty Engel is very informative and welcomes you to call if you have any questions pertaining to this issue.

Trishia Carlson

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