Save the kokanee: Make your voice heard on proposed Trestle Creek project

By K.L. Huntley
Reader Contributor

Hats off in gratitude to all the people involved in the Pack River Delta restoration endeavor. The $3.5 million project is a perfect model for the restoration of a waterfowl and wildlife habitat with new islands and more than 60,000 native plants put in place. This project will improve the spawning and rearing of endangered species and provide a migration corridor for fish and fowl. 

Not to be left out, the public has been provided with a free and easily accessible launch area for canoes and kayaks, as this delta is now designated as a no-wake zone. 

Trestle Creek by canoe. Photo courtesy Idaho Conservation League.

It is estimated that somewhere around $20 million has been spent rebuilding the wetland habitats between both the Clark Fork and Pack River deltas, all in an attempt to recover what was lost after the construction of Albeni Falls Dam in the 1950s. 

You can imagine the dismay of hundreds of residents when it came to light that less than one mile from these restoration successes, the Idaho Club is once again planning to destroy a critical habitat area. What good is it to restore two areas and then have a private company sandwiched in the middle be given a greenlight to mutilate their land in such a way that half of the estimated kokanee spawning area will be laid to waste, not to mention the endangered bull trout? 

That is only the beginning. The Idaho Club’s new plan includes an 88-slip commercial marina. 

Eighty-eight slips translates to a minimum paved parking area for 88 vehicles. Since human beings are operating these boats, there will need to be bathroom facilities, not attached to the additional seven homes the Idaho Club plans to build — including additional private docks.

The United States has a tragic history of contributing to the decimation of a variety of habitats and animals. Even our national symbol — the bald eagle — was listed as endangered for close to 40 years. 

I sat at Trestle Creek one year, thrilled to see close to 20 of these majestic birds perched in the trees. Will they perch on the homes the Idaho Club plans to build? How much will the next restoration project cost?

As area residents Kim and David Wanecke said, “Here we go again.” 

Mark your calendars. The Idaho Department of Lands will accept comments until Monday, Oct. 7, which will also be the day of a public hearing on the project at Sandpoint High School from 5-8 p.m. 

Yes, here we go again. The Idaho Club isn’t taking no for an answer. Somehow they seem to have missed the important connection of human life to the environment. 

Just a suggestion, but perhaps they could use their obvious disposable incomes to enhance the community rather than degrade it.