Wolf Lodge Bay development questioned

Idaho Department of Lands holds meeting on Lake Coeur d’Alene construction

The Idaho Department of Lands will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday over the proposed construction of a 150-by-10-foot commercial dock, two 100-foot mooring stations, and a 120-by-80-foot commercial work area on Lake Coeur d’Alene in Wolf Lodge Bay.

The Commercial Navigational Encroachment Permit, filed by North Idaho Maritime LLC and John Condon, received push back from the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, which says the development could harm the fish and wildlife habitat, aquatic life, recreation, aesthetic beauty, and water quality of Wolf Lodge Bay.

In the written objections, Kootenai Environmental Alliance Environmental Programs Director Amy Anderson points out commercial development’s potential to negatively affect native fish populations and encroachment on waterways.

Lake Coeur d’Alene is a designated critical habitat for bull trout by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is also a native area for cutthroat trout and kokanee spawning, which are species of concern in Idaho.

According to Anderson’s letter, Wolf Lodge Creek is also a critical salmon habitat, and the construction necessary to fulfill the permit objectives would disrupt the salmon spawning habitat with a higher level of boat and barge traffic than ever before.

“The value of fisheries from the north end of Coeur d’Alene Lake to the local economy is extensive and is derived largely from kokanee production in the Beauty Bay/Wolf Lodge Bay vicinity. This fishery generates millions of dollars for the local economy,” Anderson wrote. “Increased boat traffic in this shallow bay has the great potential to stir up bottom sediments negatively affecting water quality and fisheries spawning and rearing habitat decreasing fisheries populations’ in the northern half of Coeur d’Alene Lake.”

Several citizens also objected to the development.

Moira DuCoeur of Coeur d’Alene, in a commentary submitted to IDL on the project, wrote that she opposed it.

“Wolf Lodge Bay is a beautiful natural habitat that you see first as you come into the Coeur d’Alene area from the east on I-90, and Highway 97 is a national scenic byway,” she wrote. “The proposed dock would obliterate the area as far as aesthetic beauty in an economy dependent on tourism.”

The hearing is offered in person, via phone, or through Zoom. Additional information is available on the Idaho Department of Lands website.

Info: bit.ly/3hhynOY

This story has been updated.