County begins charging launch-ramp fee
Controversy surrounds the recent decision of Kootenai County Parks and Waterways, which has imposed a fee for the first time at the county-owned launch ramps. Bayview has such a ramp, which in the past has been paid for by boat registration fees.
Citing rising expenses, Nick Snyder, spokesperson for Parks and Waterways, said “Expenses are increasing and many of the boats that use the launch ramps are out-of-state boaters that don’t buy Idaho registration.”
Fees for this activity are $4 per launch and $20 per season for Idaho registered boats. Out-of-state boaters will pay $8 and $40, respectively. “Clean, safe docks and restrooms are our highest priority,” Snyder added. “Funding from waterways improvement grants have stayed the same for the last 10 years, while costs have doubled, as have the use of the facilities.”
Pancake feed benefits fireworks fund
Saturday brings spring activities to a peak, starting in the morning with the Bayview Chamber of Commerce’s huckleberry pancake breakfast at the Captain’s Wheel. This annual fundraiser, which runs from 8 a.m. to noon, helps support fireworks, as do a great many activities of the Bayview Chamber of Commerce. Families are of course, welcome. The prime money-raiser, though, is the raffle. Items such as a large gas barbecue, Silverwood and Triple Play day passes and many other donated prizes will be awarded at the breakfast.
The fireworks display is going to be improved this year by 50 percent, organizers said. Guest dishwashers at the breakfast will be Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson and County Commissioner candidate Tom Cronin.
Later that night, the Captain’s Wheel will feature Zak Cooper’s OZMO BOOGIE bringing hot tunes at you. Zak is a former member of Too Slim & the Taildraggers, a longtime favorite in the area. No cover charge will be imposed, but the public is warned to come early for a good seat.
Fish and Game plants kokanee
In the good news department, last week the Idaho Fish and Game planted 20,000 egg-sac stage kokanee in the refurbished areas that Waterford Park Marinas cleaned up last year.
This, hopefully, will restore part of the lost shoreline spawners that were coming close to extinction. By planting the fish in the egg-sac stage, it gives the fish a chance to bond to their birthplace and return in four years to spawn.
A total of six million plus kokanee will be planted, most going to Sullivan springs in Granite creek. Eggs for this effort were obtained from Lake Whatcom in Washington and Deadwood Reservoir in Colorado.
In other good news, the report that last fall’s shoreline spawn was a failure was premature. Fish and Game divers found the redds in 20 feet of water at MacDonalds Resort, which is highly unusual. Some think this is the fish adapting to the unstable rising and falling of the lake level, and is a product of evolutionary survival techniques.