Commissioners address usage, animal concerns at solid waste sites

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The Bonner County Board of Commissioners’ business meeting on March 17 drew a large and vocal crowd due to two agenda items considering the closure of the Lakeview and Schweitzer solid waste sites. The unattended sites have been a longtime issue due to bear activity and illegal dumping. Still, due in part to public outcry, the commissioners voted to work with Bonner County Solid Waste and the local communities to find alternative solutions to closing the dumps.

The Lakeview Site, located off of U.S. Forest Service Road 278 near the seasonal community at Lakeview, is only accessible in the summertime. The site collects between 400 and 500 yards of trash annually, excluding non-household garbage such as tires or building materials illegally dumped at the site. The next closest collection site is Careywood, located 27 miles west.

“The Lakeview collection site has long served residents and visitors; however, its remote location, seasonal high usage and limited oversight have resulted in conditions that are no longer manageable through routine operations,” said Waste Management Director Bob Howard. “In addition to ongoing wildlife issues, particularly involving bears, the site has increasingly been used in ways that violate county solid waste regulations.”

According to Howard, who cited concerns from various Idaho Fish and Game officials, the frequency of bears at the site not only represents a safety hazard to humans, but results in “scattered refuse” in and adjacent to the forest, disrupting “natural foraging patterns” and contributing to “ecological imbalance.”

“Members of the public routinely leave waste outside designated containers, including containers of human sewage and hazardous waste, creating the public and health concerns,” Howard said. “These activities increase cleanup costs, accelerate container wear and diminish the intended purpose of the facility.”

According to Commissioner Asia Williams, the question of Lakeview’s viability comes up almost every year. A live-in employee previously staffed the site to ensure proper use; however, “with no accountability, that didn’t turn out to be financially feasible,” according to Howard. In the past, the county attempted to curb illegal dumping by installing game cameras, only to have them stolen.

Members of the public commenting on the issue argued that closing the site and directing homeowners to Careywood would simply result in more illegal dumping and trash burning, causing risks to public health.

Commissioner Ron Korn conceded the possibility that much of the household waste scattered around the site may have begun in the cans and been removed by wild animals, but, “there’s no way to control that without spending tens of thousands of dollars.” Further, both he and BOCC Chair Brian Domke argued against unattended sites in general, as they allow users to circumvent fees and dump illegally, thereby adding costs that taxpayers must shoulder. The majority of Solid Waste’s budget comes from user fees, rather than taxes.

Though the commissioners unanimously voted down the motion to close the site, they instructed Solid Waste to seek alternative sites or management practices to better serve the area.

The majority of meeting attendees came on behalf of the Schweitzer site, which in 2025 accumulated 4,000 yards of trash. The site is owned by Schweitzer, operated by the county and supervised by the Schweitzer Fire District. The county pays the district $1,200 a year to oversee the site — a fee that the Schweitzer Mountain Community Association matches.

According to Independent Highway District Commissioner Mel Bailey and members of the public, the site is only an issue during the winter, when the influx of seasonal residents and weather-related reduction of collection days coincide, leading to overflow and attracting bears. Schweitzer and the county have worked together in the past to restrict wildlife, adding “bear-resistant containers” and fencing, which lessened the problem. 

Bailey said that area residents have already begun brainstorming additional measures to keep the dump clean and safe, including installing a camera system and trash compactor, having volunteers conduct morning and afternoon checks, and raising funds to hire an attendant.

“This site up there is invaluable to the community, and it’s something that I would look at [in] the future as being a manned site, but at this time the homeowners can do quite a good job of maintaining it and doing more, because we’re willing to put more into it,” he said.

The commissioners voted unanimously to instruct Solid Waste to work with Schweitzer on possible improvements to the site.