05/09/2026
It's with a heavy heart that I inform you that Pelican Pond had a total fish kill this past winter. We had witnessed a substantial loss and removed what was mostly carp from the water when we first saw it back in January. However, that was in between two separate freezes, and now seems likely was just what was left that had not been foraged on by larger fish, carrion, and raptors. Fish biologists did an electro shocking which yielded zero fish, then placed large gillnets, which only yielded 4 carp after 3 days (for comparison, gillnets on Blue Heron after one day typically yield over 1,000 fish). The low water levels, drought, high water temps, and overactive vegetation likely played a very large role, doubled by a freeze that would have taken most of the oxygen out of the water, since it did not have its typical seasonal turnover in the fall due to those listed factors. We had similar kills in Sandpiper and Redtail last fall leading into the winter; so similar environmental factors and pond conditions. We have folks coming out to gives us a quote to fully replace the old aeration system which should help (it was installed in 2012 and damaged in the flood of 2013, then further damaged likely from sedimentation at the diffusers post-flood til only one line was functioning). We will also start amending the population of fish to reach the levels they once were before the kill. Perhaps the only good news there is that it will be back to what we had built in 2012 that only lasted a little over a year; but this time it won't have all the common carp, gizzard shad, and bullhead. Pour one out for all the great fish that came out of their the past 10 years, like those pictured. Please share your own photos in the comments in lieu of flowers.
