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There are 40 lakes in the Mt. St. Helens Monument, and only two have no fishing allowed.  Many of the other lakes, such as Coldwater, are stocked with rainbow trout.  Anglers want access to Spirit Lake because of the trophy-sized fish there--in a few years these will become normal-sized as the fish population increases and stablizes.  Fishing folks should be content with all the other beautiful lakes and normal fishing.  They should not have access to Spirit Lake for a few years of trophy fishing. Fishing in the lake can bring many potential problems, including bank erosion, garbage, and most important, a high probability of non-native species introduced on gear and boats.  Efforts to prevent this kind of contamination of lakes in the past have not been successful.  Introduced species can wreck havoc with the natural balance of any lake, and in this case would also create problems in the scientific studies of recovery.  Let's keep this beautiful lake intact for future generations.

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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