Meetings to focus on Cd'A Basin restoration

A draft plan to restore natural resources in the Coeur d’Alene Basin will be the topic of community meetings being hosted this week by the Restoration Partnership.

The Restoration Partnership comprises representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management; the Coeur d’Alene Tribe; the U.S. Forest Service; the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

The meetings will offer people the chance to learn about the draft plan and comment on restoration projects the partnership has planned. The projects will be funded with settlement funds from mining companies and others.

The natural resources the plan seeks to restore were damaged by historic releases of hazardous substances that were deposited in the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

The Coeur d’Alene Basin includes all the land that drains water into Lake Coeur d’Alene and out the Spokane River. It encompasses approximately 2.4 million acres of mountainous terrain with numerous streams, rivers, and lakes. It starts upstream to the east near the Montana border. Here, the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River flows through the Silver Valley. It then converges with the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River at Enaville and becomes the Coeur d’Alene River mainstem. The Coeur d’Alene River mainstem continues to flow west through the chain lakes until it reaches Lake Coeur d’Alene.

From the south, the Coeur d’Alene Basin includes the St. Joe and St. Maries rivers. These rivers converge in St. Maries and become the St. Joe River mainstem. The St. Joe River mainstem flows northwest for approximately 20 miles where it flows into Lake Coeur d’Alene.

There are three meetings the public is invited to attend:

• St. Maries Fire Department — Today, 5-7 p.m., 308 W. Jefferson.

• Coeur d’Alene Public Library — Wednesday, Dec. 7, 5-7 p.m., 702 E. Front Ave.

• Osburn VFW — Thursday, Dec. 8. 5-7 p.m. 318 E. Mullan Ave.

Members of the public can also view the draft restoration plan and make comments at www.restorationpartnership.org. Comments can also be mailed to the Jo Christensen, Idaho Panhandle

National Forest, 3815 N. Schreiber Way, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815 or emailed to comments@restorationpartnership.org. Comments are being accepted through Jan. 13, 2017.

Visit the Restoration Partnership website at www.restorationpartnership.org or email info@restorationpartnership.org to learn more about this effort or the Restoration Partnership.