Editing Crofton, Maryland (section)

=== Crofton pond snakehead fish incident ===
[[Image:Northern snakehead.jpg|thumb|right|[[Northern snakehead]]]]
Crofton was in the national news in late June and early July 2002 after a fish called the [[northern snakehead]] was discovered in a local pond.<ref name=Sun09052002>{{cite news | url = http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-te.md.snakehead05sep05,0,3940490.story | title = Fish poison applied to pond | date = September 5, 2002 | first = Candus | last = Thomson | work = The Baltimore Sun | publisher = Baltimore Sun Media Group | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140513042827/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-te.md.snakehead05sep05%2C0%2C3940490.story | archive-date = May 13, 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-snakehead,0,81794.special | title = Sun coverage: Snakeheads in Md | date = 2014 | work = The Sun | publisher = The Baltimore Sun | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140512221434/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-snakehead%2C0%2C81794.special | archive-date = May 12, 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=WaPo05232004>{{cite news | title = Snakehead Hoopla Just a Memory: Anne Arundel Pond Sits Forsaken Two Years Later | first = Joshua | last = Partlow | date = May 23, 2004 | page = C04 | newspaper = Washington Post | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48630-2004May22.html | access-date = February 24, 2017}}</ref> The infestation was found in water behind the Crofton post office and the adjacent shopping center,<ref name=WaPo05232004/> across Route 3 from local landmark Lake Louise.

The snakehead species is highly aggressive and voracious.<ref>{{citation | url = http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/Documents/snakeheadfactsheetedited.pdf | title = Invasive Species Program: Snakeheads – The Newest Aquatic Invader | date = July 2002 | publisher = U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | access-date = February 24, 2017}}</ref><ref name=Sun09062002>{{cite news | url = http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-md.snakehead06sep06,0,2471057.story | title = Hundreds of baby snakeheads hauled away from Crofton ponds | date = September 6, 2002 | first = Candus | last = Thomson | work = The Baltimore Sun | publisher = Baltimore Sun Media Group | access-date = February 23, 2017}}</ref>  In order to ensure that the fish were eliminated, in September 2002 the main pond and two nearby ponds were dosed heavily with [[rotenone]]<ref name=Sun09062002/> and subsequently with [[potassium permanganate]].<ref name=Sun09182002>{{cite news | url = http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-ar.snakehead18sep18,0,5551257.story | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140513041220/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-ar.snakehead18sep18%2C0%2C5551257.story | archive-date = May 13, 2014 | title = DNR says pond is clear | first = Jackie | last = Powder | date = September 18, 2002 | work = The Baltimore Sun | publisher = Baltimore Sun Media Group | url-status = dead }}</ref> Six adult snakeheads and more than one thousand juvenile fish were found and destroyed.<ref name=Sun09182002/>

Ultimately, the incident initiated a national discussion on [[invasive species]].<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.baltimoresun.com/2005/10/20/marylands-least-wanted/ | title = Maryland's least wanted: A few voracious, invasive plant and animal species threaten to crowd out state's native life forms | date = October 20, 2005 |  first = Tom | last = Pelton | work = The Baltimore Sun | access-date = February 24, 2017}}</ref><ref name=NPR-swan>{{cite episode | title = Scientists Prowl to Destroy Mute Swan Eggs | date = April 30, 2007  | people = John Nielsen | series = [[All Things Considered]] | medium = radio | url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9923886&ft=1&f=1001 | publisher = [[National Public Radio]] (NPR)| access-date = February 24, 2017}}</ref> One comparison case was the [[mute swan]],<ref name=NPR-swan/> also an invasive and destructive species of the [[Chesapeake Bay]] watershed but, in comparison, quite beautiful, and which garnered support from some environmental and animal rights groups.

Several movies were inspired by this incident. [[Syfy]] aired two movies in relation to the snakehead outbreak: in March 2004, a movie called ''[[Snakehead Terror]]'' was featured, and the movie ''[[Frankenfish]]'' was aired in June 2004. Ten Pound Films also produced a feature film titled ''[[Swarm of the Snakehead]]'' which related to this incident. In 2007, a documentary titled ''Fishzilla: Snakehead Invasion'' aired on the [[National Geographic Channel]], discussing the ecological damage that the snakeheads found in Crofton have done to surrounding areas.