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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 13, 2006 Lake treatments see fundraising boost By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Private fundraisers are close to netting enough donations to pay for chemically treating Diamond Lake next fall to kill off millions of tui chubs damaging the lake. But the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation remains about $1 million away from its goal of raising the final $1.86 million toward the overall project. The foundation started its fundraising in January on behalf of a collection of local, state and federal agencies trying to restore the eastern Douglas County lake. So far, the foundation has collected more than $800,000 in pledges and donations, said Bob Pinson, the private fundraiser and foundation board member paid to run the campaign. The group also has non-profit foundations on the hook for another $300,000 more in donations once their boards of directors approve them as expected sometime in the next month, Pinson said. Advertisement "We’re pretty pleased," said Pinson, who declined to identify the foundations. "We’re always frustrated that it isn’t faster. But we’re sure the project will happen and that we’ll stay ahead of the cash-flow to make it work." Once those foundation grants come through, the fund-raising effort will have the roughly $1.2 million needed to go forward with the rotenone treatment of the lake. Still left to fund are fish-stocking and monitoring efforts scheduled for 2007 and ’08. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Jim Muck said the fundraising is on track along with current efforts to draw the lake down before treatment. After more than a decade of work toward finding a solution to the chub dilemma, a complex mix of projects and logistics is beginning to focus more closely on the lake’s treatment, Muck said. Illegally introduced in the early 1990s, the small, plankton-eating chubs now number in the millions and have altered the lake’s ecosystem. The degradation has reached a point where fingerling trout cannot survive and toxic algae blooms close the lake to recreation at times in the summer. The lake was once Oregon’s top trout lake, drawing more than 100,000 angler-trips a year. State and federal agencies, as well as private interests, have crafted a federally approved plan aimed at rejuvenating the lake’s popularity. Plans call for drawing down the lake this spring and treating it with rotenone in the fall to kill off chubs, then restocking the lake with trout. Under the estimated $5.5 million plan, the ODFW is responsible for the rotenone purchase and application as well as water monitoring and fish stocking. For that, the ODFW has turned to the foundation, which has a reputation as one of the best and most successful fundraisers for fish and wildlife efforts in Oregon. The foundation turned to Pinson, whose Portland-based fundraising firm is expected to earn about $80,000 for its work on Diamond Lake. Donations so far have come as big as $100,000 by Roseburg Forest Products owner Alan Ford and the Douglas Timber Operators to as small as $25 checks lured by ads in Oregon’s 2006 Sport-Fishing Regulations synopsis. The Jeld-Wen Foundation has offered $50,000, and an unnamed private individual has pledged $75,000, Pinson said. Pinson said it was difficult to gauge how many donations stemmed from the angling synopsis ad and the ODFW’s presence at outdoor shows in Medford and Roseburg. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail Lake treatments see fundraising boost ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Absinthe Supply Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Debt Consolidation California Casinos Generic Viagra Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Hammocks Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada King of Spirits Advertisement s Advertisement