How did the fish get to Spirit Lake?
It is clear that fish could not have survived in Spirit Lake following the landslide and the several months when supply of oxygen in the lake was depleted by record levels of microbial activity (for more information see lakes question above).
How fish returned to Spirit Lake uncertain. The most likely explanation is that the fish were carried into the lake and illegally stocked by anglers. Studies are underway to track the introduced fish population and their influence on the developing ecosystem in Spirit Lake.
