Our local wildlife habitats aren’t promised — we need to protect them

By Jennifer Ekstrom
Reader Contributor

Heading home from the gorgeous views at Lunch Peak a few weeks ago, with a full bucket of huckleberries that were bursting with juicy goodness, I couldn’t imagine the day could be any more perfect. But as I swung through the day-use area near the mouth of Trestle Creek, it did. My eyes caught the red glimmer of spawning kokanee salmon as they shimmied upstream against the current to find perfect spots to build their nests (called redds) and lay their eggs. What better way to top off a perfect Idaho day than see the start of the next generation of salmon?

I watched the fish rest in small pools and gain strength before bursting through the spots where the current was swift. It’s truly awe inspiring to witness their instinctual resolve to find the best place to spawn before they die. It’s the cycle of life before your very eyes. I encourage everyone to visit this special place in the fall, where you can easily witness this wonder.

But this experience — and this place — isn’t promised. Although Trestle Creek has a legacy in North Idaho, and deserves a place in our future, it faces a threat we know all too well: inappropriate development.

Trestle Creek. Courtesy photo.

When considering the ecological importance of Trestle Creek, it’s easy to see how devastating the impacts of losing this special place would be. According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), Trestle Creek offers the best spawning area for kokanee salmon and threatened bull trout in the entire Pend Oreille basin. Before 1999, when our bull trout were classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), anglers could catch and eat these native fish. Although that abundance no longer exists, Trestle Creek still represents a stronghold; in bull trout redd counts done by IDFG and Avista Utilities in 22 tributaries in the Pend Oreille Basin, approximately half of the redds counted occur in Trestle Creek alone. 

Still, Trestle Creek is facing challenges. The most recent report by IDFG and Avista Utilities reveals that the number of bull trout redds in Trestle Creek declined by nearly half in 2023, compared to 2022. What’s more, the counts found less than half the number of redds compared to the 10-year average. 

This doesn’t just spell trouble for our bull trout. As one of the more sensitive fish species, bull trout can be considered a “canary in a coal mine” when it comes to water quality and habitat problems — giving us a preview of threats that other fish and wildlife will soon face. 

One of the main causes of their decline? Habitat destruction. The warning lights are flashing, and sending us a message: If we want to save our native bull trout, we must protect Trestle Creek.

Idahoans — especially North Idahoans — care about our native fish. We are not the same without them. Despite knowing the devastating threat losing this habitat would be to our ESA-listed fish, The Idaho Club has persisted with various proposals to build a marina and housing development at the mouth of Trestle Creek. The most recent proposal would significantly undermine the possibility of bull trout survival — damaging bull trout habitat by building a commercial marina for 88 boats, plus a breakwater, pedestrian bridge, parking lot and seven houses with private docks. The Idaho Club’s new plan would remove the main shoreline, a part of the existing island and parts of the interior of the peninsula for a total excavation of 12,500 cubic yards of lakebed across 3.2 acres. They would remove natural vegetation and harden 3,830 feet of shoreline. 

It gets worse. The development would also welcome hordes of new boat traffic, bringing noise, garbage, and the potential for oil and gas leaks. There is no plan for a restroom facility for the public to use, nor for a sewage pump-out station that would service the boats. Polluted runoff from the new houses, lawns, parking lot and roads would also impact water quality.

In total, this development would significantly impact the habitat available to bull trout, kokanee salmon and other species that make North Idaho special — if we let it.

The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), which is in charge of permitting marina developments and alterations of the lakebed, is hosting a hearing at Sandpoint High School on Monday, Oct. 7, where the public is invited to weigh in on The Idaho Club’s proposal.

Any public comments that cannot be heard on Oct. 7 will continue on Tuesday, Oct. 8. You can voice your concerns ahead of time by sending a message to [email protected]. Please note application No. L-96-S-2798A in your comments. Comments will be accepted until the hearing is complete. 

An additional hearing has been requested of the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of permitting the dredging and filling of the lakebed. We will keep the community informed when this hearing is scheduled. 

Our public agencies are obligated to protect public trust values, such as water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, aquatic life and aesthetic beauty. Trestle Creek would best serve public trust values if left intact and undisturbed. Our community rallied to stop similar proposals three times already. Unfortunately, it appears that our message has not been heard. Please don’t let up now; speak up once again to protect this special place and critical habitat. 

I hope that people tomorrow, next year and generations to come will have the opportunity to witness the wonder of life that my eyes beheld the other day, as I munched on tangy sweet huckleberries and felt the sort of peace that only nature can provide. But that isn’t promised. We must fight for it, together. 

Jennifer Ekstrom is North Idaho director for the Idaho Conservation League.