Spawning change

The developer responsible for trashing a critical kokanee salmon spawning bed on Lake Pend Oreille last month will likely be required to repair the damages, as well as rework his marina expansion plans to better protect the struggling species.

State and federal agencies have suspended work permits for developer Bob Holland’s expansion of the Harborview Marina in Bayview following the incident on April 17 when steel dock pilings were pounded through one of the lake’s last healthy kokanee spawning beds.

Tens of thousands of kokanee fry had recently hatched at the site and were being sheltered among the cobbles and gravels when they were killed by the construction work, which also churned up enough silt to suffocate thousands more unhatched eggs with an inch or more of sediment, according to preliminary results of an investigation being conducted by the Idaho Fish and Game Department.

The incident has not only infuriated anglers and residents of Bayview, it is prompting government agencies to redouble development oversight efforts.

Holland did not have a permit to pound the pilings, but the destruction of the kokanee spawning area is believed to have started days or weeks earlier, when a contractor hired by Holland dismantled boat sheds over the bay. The sheds were once used by the Navy, which continues to operate a research facility in Scenic Bay.

The work was legal but destructive, said Jim Brady, with the Idaho Department of Lands. Old pilings were dragged across the lake bed, and debris was scattered on the gravel.

“This was a pretty big learning experience,” Brady said. “We were not aware of the types of construction activity taking place and had never seen impacts like this. … Those sorts of things are going to be very closely scrutinized in the future.”

Holland has taken responsibility for the incident, which he blamed on miscommunication between an employee and the crew of the tugboat hired to do work at the marina, said Steve Wetzel, a Coeur d’Alene attorney representing Holland and his company, Waterford Park Homes. The permit application for the construction work was being reviewed by state agencies when the work took place.

“It was an absolutely stupid thing to do. Why it happened we don’t really know,” Wetzel said. “We don’t want to get in a position of pointing fingers. We want to fix the fish spawning bed as quickly as possible.”

Holland, who is currently recovering from surgery, “feels terrible” about the destruction of the spawning bed, Wetzel added. “Waterford Park Homes will mitigate all damages done by the pilings and will assist to get the silt out of the spawning beds.”

Government agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Idaho attorney general’s office, are discussing possible penalties. Under state law, Holland faces a maximum fine of $2,500 for operating without a permit, but he could face far bigger expenses if he’s required to restore the spawning grounds.

The Idaho Department of Lands recently asked the state Legislature to increase fines for violating lake protection laws, Brady said. The Legislature declined the request. The fines have not increased since the law took effect in 1974.

Earlier this week, a citizen watchdog commission called on state agencies to halt construction at the marina. “This is a critical loss to the Lake Pend Oreille fishery,” according to the memo sent by the Pend Oreille Basin Commission to state leaders.

The commission, whose voting members are appointed by the governor, issued a list of demands, including restoration of the spawning bed and a public hearing, before Holland proceeds. The commission also wants Holland to post a financial bond and consent to regular inspections by the Fish and Game Department.

Commission Chairman Ford Elsaesser toured the site Thursday and viewed video images taken by state divers. State officials say the site’s previously clean gravels accounted for a quarter of the lake’s remaining kokanee spawning grounds. The beds have been reduced to “mucky sediment,” Elsaesser said.

Fixing the damage quickly is critical, not only so spawning fish will have a place to deposit eggs this fall, but also because the fate of the lake depends on a healthy population of kokanee, Elsaesser said. Until the 1970s, there were enough kokanee to support commercial fishing. Because of dams and exotic predators, including lake trout, the species is barely hanging on today. Millions of dollars have been spent in recent years by government agencies, power generators and anglers to help the species recover.

Should kokanee disappear – as they have done in other large Western lakes – other species of fish could follow, including threatened bull trout, Elsaesser said.

“It would be disastrous. It would be the worst thing that could happen to Lake Pend Oreille,” he said.

Scenic Bay is the lake’s last stronghold for shoreline kokanee spawning, said Chip Corsi, regional director of the Idaho Fish and Game Department. The bay is where lake water flows into the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. Kokanee spawning beds, known as redds, constructed on the bay’s shallow gravels, are kept free from smothering silts and provided with a rich supply of oxygen and nutrients.

The department is trying to determine how many kokanee were destroyed and the value of these fish, Corsi said. The total value of the Lake Pend Oreille sport fishery is estimated at $17 million.

“If we can recover that fishery, that value will likely come close to doubling,” Corsi said. “This is a lake that produced a world record rainbow trout that fed on kokanee and the world record bull trout. The fishery is built on the back of kokanee.”

Although residents are furious over the loss of the spawning beds, they’re equally angry at what they say has been a lack of government oversight. Holland, who owns much of the town’s commercial property, has a history of disregarding regulations, said Hobart Jenkins, chairman of the Bayview Chamber of Commerce’s development analysis committee. Jenkins is one of several residents who tracks Holland and makes frequent reports to government agencies.

“We’re so tired of having to put up with violations, and nothing’s ever done. Finally, we have something that’s gotten everybody’s attention,” said Jenkins, a retiree and former president of Spokane Community College. “When he messed up our fish, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Dennis Damon, a retired substance abuse counselor, said he’s made countless calls to oversight agencies looking for laws to be enforced. “It’s the very first time we’ve ever been able to bring any kind of action against him,” Damon said. “He’s just raping the town, and people have to sit there and take it.”

The state permit to operate a marina on public waterways requires the permit holder to be a good steward, Damon said. “This man has been far less than a good steward. They should rescind his lease.”

State and federal officials say Holland’s marina expansion will not be allowed to go forward unless he proves the work will be fish-friendly.

“The bottom line is, how do we make this a safe place for the kokanee to spawn?” said Corsi of the Fish and Game Department. “Any design that gets permitted is going to have to be a design that works well for the kokanee.”