Hayden Lake is a beautiful and popular lake in our region, but it’s increasingly troubled. Kootenai Environmental Alliance has launched the multi-pronged Hayden lake Project as a concentrated effort to conserve the resource, restore water quality and protect the lake from current and future threats.
In 1998, Hayden Lake was deemed a water body with threatened water quality under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, with phosphorous being identified as the significant pollutant of concern. Phosphorus pollution creates excess nutrient loading which affects cold water aquatic life by reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen available. Phosphorous sources include sediment and runoff generated by:
logging
new development in and around the watershed
shoreline septic systems
storm water
detergents containing phosphorous
ashes from campfires and forest fires
pet and livestock waste
Our Hayden Lake Project consists of outreach, education, and on-the-water and on-the-ground restoration projects:
Phase 1 – Expand public awareness about Hayden Lake and improve the public’s watershed IQ
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 »
