Corps, IDL seek public input on Trestle Creek development

By Reader Staff

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Idaho Department of Lands are once again seeking public comment on the Idaho Club’s proposed development near the mouth of Trestle Creek, which includes an 88-slip commercial marina, breakwater, pedestrian bridge and parking lot, as well as seven houses with corresponding private docks.

Written comments are due to the Corps Wednesday, Sept. 25. IDL will accept written comments until Monday, Oct. 7, when the Office of Administrative Hearings will host a public hearing at Sandpoint High School (410 S. Division Ave.) on IDL’s behalf.

Paddlers explore Lake Pend Oreille near the mouth of Trestle Creek. Courtesy photo.

The proposed development has undergone a series of major revisions since it was first drafted in 2008, due most recently to pushback from members of the public and environmental groups like the Idaho Conservation League. Trestle Creek provides an important habitat for indigenous kokanee salmon and bull trout, the latter of which are protected by the Endangered Species Act and listed as threatened in all of their known habitats, including Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Half of the Pend Oreille Basin’s bull trout population spawns in Trestle Creek, according to ICL North Idaho Director Brad Smith. Members of the public have voiced concern over how development, boat traffic and potential pollution from the marina will impact the fish.

Following a September 2023 hearing, IDL approved the Idaho Club’s request for an encroachment permit for a 105-slip community dock. By classifying that project as a community dock rather than a marina, the developers would have circumvented Idaho law, which requires that marinas make 50% of their moorage available to the public.

A subsequent land transfer rendered the Idaho Club’s previous application invalid, as developers no longer had the three adjacent parcels required to build a community dock. Developers must therefore resubmit their permit applications and receive a new environmental impact statement and/or an environmental assessment from the Corps in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

IDL’s Oct. 7 public hearing will run from 5 to 8 p.m. and will focus on the developers’ application for encroachment as well as any modifications made to the proposal since September 2023. The meeting will reconvene Tuesday, Oct. 8 should public comment on Monday run over the allotted three hours. Those seeking to submit written public comments should do so before the start of the hearing.

Direct all written comments for IDL to [email protected]. Otherwise, comments intended for the Corps should be emailed to [email protected] or mailed directly to the Coeur d’Alene Regulatory Office at 1910 Northwest Boulevard, Suite 210, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83814.

According to its recent public comment notice, any written statements submitted to the Corps will be used “to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects and the other public interest factors.”

Members of the public can also request that the Corps host a public hearing, separate from IDL’s Oct. 7 meeting, but must provide “specific reasons” in their written testimony to justify the request.