The Department of Environmental Conservation is making plans to stop an Orange County water snakehead fish invasion by using pesticide.

DEC crews are measuring the volume of Ridgebury Lake in Wawayanda in case the state moves ahead and adds rotenone to the water. Rotenone would kill anything breathing through a gill.

The rotenone would be targeting the invasive snakehead, which isn't native to the area but has been found in the lake and local ponds. The snakehead is a fish known for its voracious eating and astounding reproductive rates.

State officials are concerned the snakehead could possibly make its way from Orange County waters into the Hudson River and then infest the rest of the state, possibly devastating native species.

If the plan to use rotenone is approved, the DEC would restock the county with native fish next year.