Date: 8/2/25 8:04 am From: Derb Carter (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Mattamuskeet
I tried to post this a week ago when the court filed its decision but had some tech issues now resolved and did not realize it was not posted:
There was some discussion a few months ago about the proposal to apply a toxic algaecide to Lake Mattamuskeet that includes a warning that it is toxic to birds. The lake has water quality problems that need to be addressed, and a plan has been developed that will hopefully provide a long-term solution, and restore the submerged grasses and the status of the Refuge as a premier area for waterfowl. We represented Defenders of Wildlife and Sierra Club in filing a lawsuit challenging the plan to apply the toxic algaecide to several areas of the lake. The company agreed to defer application until the case was decided. Today, the federal court ruled that in approving application of the toxic algaecide to a Wildlife Refuge that was established as an inviolate bird sanctuary, the Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Wildlife Refuge Act which requires all activities be compatible with the purposes of the refuge, and the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the Service to take a hard look at actions it proposes to take that have a significant effect on the environment. We are hopeful that now attention and resources can be refocused on long tern solutions to the water quality problems in the lake.
