Good news for everyone who values clean water! The Hayden Lake Project got a gold star on its first official report card. What The Hayden Lake Project Is: The project, which launched in 2009 and operates under the direction of Kootenai Environmental Alliance (KEA), conducts water quality research in and around Hayden Lake. It uses new technologies and science-backed methods that are well proven to more »
As summer is starting to fade into fall I am reminded and wishing for that amazing warm weather we saw this season. With that weather and current pollutants found in lakes, two documented blue green algae blooms exploded in Fernan and Hayden lakes causing health advisories and shutting down lake access. Why is Blue Green Algae showing up in our lakes? Blue Green Algae is more »
If there’s one thing we notice in the KEA office, it is that the days on the calendar keep flying at us. Every day is a new challenge. In the brief respite afforded by a slightly less frantic holiday week, here is a compilation of things we’ll be watching as the new year unfolds. 1. Dike Road Trees — At some point in 2012, we’re more »
We were pleasantly surprised when we heard that, last Thursday, the Kootenai County Commissioners had rejected a proposal to eliminate water quality protections in an ongoing subdivision development above Hayden Lake. The Commissioners voted 3-0 to overturn a hearing examiner decision that would have removed development restrictions on the Falls at Hayden Lake subdivision. In a hotly contested hearing process in 2008, the 46-lot Falls more »
Faced with a subdivision proposal on a steep hillside above Hayden Lake, the Kootenai County Commissioners struggled today with the County’s subdivision ordinances and denied the request. The subdivision would have placed some 34 homes on steep slopes and erodible soils just above Hayden Lake – not far from where East Hayden Lake Road washed out in the recent spring rains. The Commissioners wrestled with more »
Kootenai Environmental Alliance has a very busy land use program, but as a general rule, we don’t weigh in on subdivision applications in Kootenai County. Mostly because we’re a small busy non-profit – there are only so many battles we can fight. The main reason for drawing the line at subdivisions is that under current county code (the subdivision ordinance — a very large pdf), more »
We sent a version of this post to our friends and members earlier this week, and we thought we’d share our thoughts on 2010 here as well. We’ve had a pretty good year at KEA. As this end-of-year letter is being written, the Kootenai County Commissioners are finally completing work on the long-awaited comprehensive plan. As you know, KEA has been involved at every step more »
This posting courtesy of KEA staffer Julie Vanmiddlesworth: The 9th annual Lakes Conference held last Saturday at Spokane Community College revealed that many of Idaho and Washington’s lakes are plagued by common problems. Invasive species and high nutrient levels are degrading the waters of many of our beloved lakes. Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper advocated for a wider approach to Milfoil control in Lake Pend Oreille, more »
Last Thursday, nearly 100 people turned out for KEA’s premier of Karen Hayes’ new documentary film, The Hayden Lake Project which describes in clear and convincing style what is happening to Kootenai County’s largest lake that isn’t Lake Coeur d’Alene. As the clear-eyed film points out, phosphorous is quite literally choking Hayden Lake, which doesn’t have a river outflow to relieve the pollution loads flowing more »
