In 1994, officials from the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) discovered a predatory invasive fish species, northern pike, in a reservoir in the northern Sierra Nevada. Because this reservoir served as drinking water for the local community, CDFG's proposal of applying chemical pesticides to Lake Davis to eradicate northern pike elicited public outcry. Subsequent acts of community protest surrounding Fish and Game's application of the chemicals garnered international media attention.

Despite strong community objections, CDFG treated Lake Davis with formulated rotenone in 1997. Although the Department had successfully used this combination of chemicals to eradicate pike from nearby waterways in the past, pike resurfaced in Lake Davis seventeen months later.