It sounds impressive to say that 7.5 million pounds of carp will be removed from Utah Lake. Carp have some impressive numbers of their own. On average a female Cyprinus carpio produces 650,000 eggs but they can produce as many as 2,100,000 eggs per year.

In Japan, colorful carp specimens, koi, are kept as pets. Koi are nevertheless good ol' Cyprinus carpio. There is a record of one individual koi that was hatched in 1751 and survived until 1977. It is unlikely that carp can live this long in Utah Lake, but they live long enough and it won't take very many of them to replenish the space provided by the removal of some of their numbers.

Also, it is not certain that carp are responsible for the decline of the June sucker. As a young kid I used to fish the Provo River. In the 1950s, June suckers were considered "trash fish." It was legal to fish for them by "snagging" with huge treble hooks. I remember seeing the river full of them and seeing a fisherman with huge stringer of suckers he had snagged.

By 1950, carp had been the dominant species in Utah Lake for over 50 years. Since 1950, walleye, a very effective predator, and white bass, a very prolific predator, were introduced. It seems likely that these could be responsible. Or maybe it was the snaggers?

This exercise in futility will provide no permanent benefits but it will consume a chunk of our tax dollars. Could this be a microcosm of what is being done with our precious resources elsewhere?

• Bob Allen, Salem