By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch The public can have a say in whether Lake Kapowsin becomes a state-designated aquatic reserve. The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host an open house-style public meeting for Oct. 2 at Kapowsin Elementary School to discuss the proposed reserve. The gathering is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. The school is at 104512-á 264th St. E. in Graham. Aquatic reserves don't affect fishing or private property. Recreational and commercial fishing is managed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and continues regardless of reserve status, with no restrictions on access to fishing, boating or fish limits, officials said. In addition, reserves only encompass DNR-managed areas. Private or tribal land is excluded. According to DNR, Lake Kapowsin is being considered for a reserve because its rarity as an undeveloped lowland lake in the Puget Sound region. The state-owned lake is also unique because of cedar forest beneath its surface. The lake was created and flooded the area about 500 years ago when the Electron mudflow, as its known by geologists, surged down Mount Rainier and dammed Kapowsin Creek. The lake contains important habitat for fish and other aquatic species, officials noted. If state-owned land or water is designated as an aquatic reserve, DNR works with nearby communities to develop a site-specific management plan for land-uses within the reserve. The plan can also limit activities, officials said. Without reserve status and a management plan, DNR would consider uses of the site on a case-by-case basis. Lake Kapowsin is open year-round. For fishing, it's stocked with bass, bluegill and trout, among others, according to Fish and Wildlife officials. Aquatic areas currently owned and managed by the state include about 68,000 acres of state-owned tidelands, 90,000 acres of harbor areas, and 3,430 square miles of marine beds under navigable water.
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