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SaveD Cougar Bay!
After listening to community concerns, Kootenai County Parks and Waterways has agreed not to install mooring buoys in Cougar Bay and instead will begin looking for a more appropriate mooring location that can better serve the needs of the motorized boater.
Parks and Waterways will still install the less controversial buoys to delineate the no-wake zone. Director, Nick Snyder explained that, “The buoys are needed to caution motorized boaters, and to better define the line so that it can be legally enforced.”
We are reasonably hopeful that the historic pilings will remain in Cougar Bay as long as they are not hazards. However, the maze-like boom sticks that used to connect the pilings have been removed. Under rules from Idaho Department of Lands the departure of Foss Maritime initiated a “change of use” for the booms, thus they are no longer legally allowed to remain.
At this point, we are working to finalize the preservation of the pilings, and helping to raise funds for Kootenai County Parks and Waterways install No-Wake Zone buoys to delineate the mouth of Cougar Bay. We are also hoping to raise money to fund any necessary removal of hazard pilings and future piling protection efforts.
We look forward to future collaboration with Kootenai County and Idaho Department of Lands in preserving Cougar Bay for wildlife habitat and quiet recreation. Thanks to all of you that attended hearings, meetings, wrote letters and emails—together we do make a difference!
Save Cougar Bay News:
October 29, 2010 1:47 pm : blog, Save Cougar Bay
Although things have been quiet recently on the Save Cougar Bay battlefront, new shots were fired yesterday by the Cougar Bay Osprey Protective Association, which filed a lawsuit challenging the Idaho Department of Lands’ rejection of their application to protect the pilings and booms in Cougar Bay. Having been rejected twice by the Department, without so much as a hearing, the Osprey Association filed a
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September 9, 2010 1:33 pm : blog, Save Cougar Bay
We were a little taken aback this week, with the done-deal announcement that the Idaho Department of Lands and Kootenai County have entered an agreement that the County will now be responsible for the removal of hazardous pilings and booms in the Spokane River and Coeur d’Alene Lake. The agreement, signed without public input, and at an August 31 meeting of the County Commissioners without
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August 13, 2010 12:08 pm : blog, Save Cougar Bay
Yesterday, the Cougar Bay Osprey Association received yet another rejection letter from its least favorite correspondent, the Idaho Department of Lands. This time the letter came through their attorney in the Idaho Attorney General’s office. The letter affirmed the Department’s outright rejection of the application to protect the pilings and booms in Cougar Bay for osprey habitat and quiet recreation. The letter rationalizes the Department’s
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August 11, 2010 3:24 pm : blog, Save Cougar Bay
Intern Trevor Frank reviews the non-water quiet recreation at Cougar Bay: Just minutes from downtown Coeur d’Alene, The Nature Conservancy’s Cougar Bay Preserve is a great place to view wildlife. The 88 protected acres contain more than 5 miles of trail networks for enjoyment by the public, while the bay and creek accommodate kayaks, canoes, and fishermen. The Bay’s upland has been protected as a
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August 9, 2010 3:13 pm : blog, Save Cougar Bay
Last week, area attorney Scott Reed responded in writing to the Idaho Department of Lands rejection of a proposal to protect the pilings in Cougar Bay. In a tough letter, Reed describes that the Department, which has now rejected the application twice without a hearing, must accept the application by the Osprey Protective Association one way or another. On the first attempt, IDL refused to
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