Public hearing on Brickel Creek sandbar removal to be held Thursday
A public hearing will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday at Timberlake High School regarding an application that has been submitted to the Idaho Department of Lands to divert the mouth of Spirit Lake's Brickel Creek and dredge to remove the sandbar.
Spencer Roesner/Courtesy photo
SPIRIT LAKE — A public hearing regarding the potential removal of the sandbar at Brickel Creek in Spirit Lake will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday in Classroom 33349 at Timberlake High School, 5973 Highway 54, Spirit Lake.
According to the Spirit Lake Property Owners Association's website, friendsofspiritlake.com, an application has been submitted to the Idaho Department of Lands to divert the mouth of Brickel Creek and dredge to remove the sandbar that has formed. The stated purpose for the application is to improve a property owner's dock access.
"The sandbar formed, presumably, as a result of an earlier human intervention that involved trapping and removed the existing beaver and straightening Brickel Creek," the website states. "At the time this seemed like a reasonable action. The result over time, however, is increased erosion of Brickel Creek, increased sediment flow into the lake and the formation of the sandbar at the mouth. The sandbar is a natural phenomenon that now may serve to slow the flow rate of Brickel Creek, improve spawning success and trap sediment from entering the lake."
The application to divert and dredge the mouth of Brickel Creek can also be viewed at friendsofspiritlake.com.
Comments can be submitted through Thursday to navigablewaterways@idl.idaho.gov.