The parasitic fish is a chief concern to fisherman and scientists.

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (AP) – A long-term sea lamprey control program likely will start this year on Lake Champlain.

The lamprey, a kind of parasite that kills fish, is a chief concern to the state’s anglers and environmental scientists.

At a recent outdoors show Gov. James Douglas told a crowd of hunters, anglers and trappers that lamprey control is near the top of his agenda this year. He said he’s instructed officials from various state agencies to work together to ensure a lamprey control program can make its way through the necessary regulatory process.

The Winooski River was scheduled to be treated with lamprey-killing chemicals in the fall, but the process has been slowed by state permitting problems.

“The governor has been highly supportive of the program,” said Craig Martin, deputy project leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lake Champlain office.

Another sign that lamprey control will start soon appeared Friday when Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced $7.3 million in new federal funding for Lake Champlain. The funding includes $100,000 for a lamprey barrier dam on the New York side of the lake.

Leahy said he would make sure federal money for even more lamprey control is made available in the future.

“I guarantee you we’ll keep the money coming for lamprey,” said Leahy, a ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The fish and wildlife service’s Lake Champlain office also recently hired a lamprey biologist, another promising sign that a lamprey control program is in the works for this year. Dr. Bradley Young would join the office soon, Martin said.

Martin said the deltas of two lamprey-producing rivers on the northern New York portion of Lake Champlain would be treated with lamprey-killing pesticides in the fall.

AP-ES-01-25-04 1313EST