Developer fined for ruining spawning bed

Developer Bob Holland has been fined $2,500 for destroying one of Lake Pend Oreille’s last healthy kokanee salmon spawning beds, according to a statement issued Thursday by the Idaho Department of Lands. The destruction took place last month during an expansion project at a marina owned by Holland’s company, Waterford Park Homes.

Officials noticed the problems April 17 after steel pilings were illegally pounded directly through the spawning bed in front of Holland’s marina in Bayview. The beds were loaded with tens of thousands of eggs and newly hatched fry. The Idaho Fish and Game Department, along with angler groups, have launched a massive, multimillion-dollar effort in recent years to restore the collapsed population, which is the foundation of the lake’s $17 million sport fishery.

Holland had applied for a permit to do the work, but the public comment period on the permit did not close until April 20. Holland has expressed regret for the destruction and attributed the work to miscommunication between an employee and the crews of a tugboat hired to do the work. The employee has been fired, and Holland has promised to restore the spawning area.

The fine is the maximum allowed under state law – a fact that infuriates some residents of Bayview, including Dennis Damon, who serves on the town’s Development Analysis Committee. The town is unincorporated and the committee serves as a de facto planning department, though it has no official powers.

“It’s a joke,” Damon said of the fine. “It’s just an absolute joke.”

More fines could be coming, though. The Idaho Fish and Game Department is analyzing possible penalties for the destruction of the fish, said regional manager Chip Corsi. Tens of thousands of fish were killed, according to agency estimates.

The loss comes at a particularly critical time for the species, which has plummeted in numbers in recent years, thanks to exotic predators and changes in spawning habitat because of dams and development.

“This really couldn’t have come at a worse time for kokanee. The resiliency for that population is gone,” Corsi said. “We’re kind of sitting at a tipping point. This situation did not help that at all.”

As Fish and Game looks to possible fines or sanctions, a new debate is brewing over the fate of the marina expansion. An engineering firm hired by Holland is pushing for the construction to be allowed to proceed – on the eve of summer boating season – with restoration of spawning beds taking place later, according to a letter sent by the firm to the state.

Corsi said Fish and Game wants to see the problem fixed before any further work is done on the marina. The agency is also pushing for a tighter review of the construction to ensure the work will not prevent fish from using the spawning beds this fall.

The construction permit is issued by the Idaho Department of Lands. The agencies are now discussing what to do next, Corsi said.

State legislators recently pledged to work on boosting fines attached to the state’s Lake Protection Act. The fines have not increased since the law was passed in 1974.

Damon said he and other residents have been pushing for help from state legislators and government agencies for months, with no success. “It’s unbelievable,” he said. “We were screaming at everybody. Nobody responded. Nobody was paying attention.”