TRESTLE CREEK: Worth preserving

On May 11, Bonner County Commissioners approved modifications to a proposed marina and residential development at the mouth of Trestle Creek on Lake Pend Oreille. The “Idaho Club North Lake Planned Unit Development” includes plans for 100 boat slips, a boat ramp, boat storage facilities and five residential units at the mouth of the creek. The property is owned by the Idaho Club, which also owns and operates the Idaho Club Golf Course on the lower Pack River.

Trestle Creek is the single most important stream for bull trout spawning in the Pend Oreille Basin. Bald eagles roost and nest in the cottonwood trees on the property. Deer and moose browse the luscious forage on the site, and there is an active beaver dam.

The modifications approved by the Commissioners do nothing to address the egregious environmental impacts associated with the development. Trestle Creek and its North Branch will be confined to a simplified channel, lacking the structure and diversity that bull trout and other fish need to thrive.

The Idaho Club must secure a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers in order to proceed with dredging and filling wetlands. The Idaho Conservation League and the Center for Biological Diversity will closely monitor the Corp’s permitting process and do everything we can to protect Trestle Creek and its fish and wildlife.

BRAD SMITH

Sandpoint