Orcas Island’s lakes do, and state biologists hope to keep it that way.

Known for being great fighters, for tasting great and for growing to trophy-size in Cascade Lake, the Kokanee trout of Moran State Park are just a few weeks away of being certified disease-free after a three-year study.

Once the certification from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is obtained, the eggs from Kokanee born in Mountain Lake and Cascade Lake may be used to populate other lakes in Skagit, Whatcom and Snohomish counties.

“Except for a couple of parasites, roundworm and tapeworm that you find in all the lakes, we have not found anything in the fish from the two Moran lakes over the past three years that will hold up their being certified as disease-free,” said Fish and Wildlife pathologist Jed Varney.

The Kokanee trout is a land-locked fish that is descended from the salt-water Sockeye salmon.

Instead of returning to the sea after a time in the lake, they stayed and adapted to a fresh-water environment.

For the past three years, a pathologist and other experts from Fish and Wildlife have worked with Moran State Park rangers to catch and test approximately 180 Kokanee from each lake.

The study is part of a park project that has included the development of a fish hatchery, and the restoration of a portion of Cascade Lake’s head wall to provide a better environment for spawning.

“Almost all the success of any of my projects is directly related to how successful I am in forging alliances with other agencies,” said Mark Downen, an area inland fish biologist with Fish and Wildlife. “The park has been very enthusiastic about supporting the study. It has been a great example of interagency cooperation.”

“One of the really remarkable things is the Moran State Park fish hatchery,” Downen said.

The fish hatchery at Cascade Lake was started in 2007 in a small building on the upland side of the park road.

The hatchery takes in 80,000 Kokanee eggs and will plant about 60,000 fish, said said Dave Castor, volunteer and former park ranger. Mountain Lake has a self-sustaining population and provides eggs for the hatchery.

The hatchery is a joint project among Moran Park, Fish and Wildlife and the Friends of Moran group.

The Friends of Moran have given a considerable amount of money for the fish hatchery, and citizens volunteer their time there. The hatchery is open November through September, and the eggs need to be cared for daily.

When told of the study, a resident lunching at nearby Olga Store said, “Wouldn’t it be faster to just test the people after the fishing season is over?”