Susan Drumheller

One of 10 dead swans found near Harrison, Idaho. Photo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Mining companies are counting on federal legislation to help speed the cleanup of the Coeur d'Alene Basin and save on court costs. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, plans to introduce a bill similar to the Coeur d'Alene Basin Environmental Restoration Act that he and fellow Republican Sen. Dirk Kempthorne co-sponsored last year.

Phone calls from anxious campers are pouring into Priest Lake State Park. The office is swamped with reservation requests, but often the phones just ring and ring and ring.

Built to protect fish from the elements, a new building at the Kootenai Tribe's fish hatchery was destroyed under unusually heavy snow three weeks ago. But the building may be replaced soon.

1. From tree to tee. Roger Stewart proposes a golf course uphill from the lakeshore condominiums at Arrow Point. It would cover nearly 200 acres, include wildlife habitat and may be surrounded by homes. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review 2. John Gozzer, 83, has lived on the land adjacent to the proposed Arrow Point golf course since 1917 - when he was 3 years old. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

Sen. Larry Craig may have jumped the gun in his vociferous defense of race-car champion Bobby Unser, who is being prosecuted for violating the Wilderness Act during a near-fatal snowmobile trip in December. U.S. Forest Service officials said Wednesday they have ample evidence that Unser was well-aware that he was violating the law when he entered the South San Juan Wilderness on Dec. 20 on a snowmobile.

Erratic Idaho weather has earned some North Idaho counties the dubious distinction as disaster areas twice in one year. "We've got disaster declaration on top of disaster declaration," said Erma McNeff of Bonner County's disaster services.

A contractor accused of bilking three homeowners for thousands of dollars is under investigation by the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department. Two Hayden residents and one Spokane resident told the sheriff's department that Builders Northwest, owned by Connie Ulrick, failed to either finish jobs that it started or failed to pay subcontractors.

Melting ice on Lake Fernan was making Fernan Village residents nervous as water started creeping onto their lawns Friday. "If this stuff melts and we get a thaw, we're in trouble," said Fernan Village Mayor Marilyn Tierney.

Opland

Leftover lumber scraps are getting good use at the Unity Church construction site on 15th Avenue. Stacked in a pile and lit on fire, the scraps make a pleasant little bonfire for the chilled builders.

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Friday, December 27, 1996:) Correction A graphic in Thursday's newspaper incorrectly overstated the amount of spawning gravel available to kokanee salmon on Lake Pend Oreille. A five-foot increase in the winter lake level adds more than 2 million square feet of spawning gravel.

Mike Wallace helps clear the ice for a pickup game Monday at Go-Kart Family Fun. Photo by Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review

An abundance of Washington license plates at Idaho boat ramps during the summer has some local boaters grumbling. It's been two years since Idaho stopped making Washington residents pay to play on Idaho waters. But even though a change in boat licensing rules has raised tens of thousands of dollars for North Idaho, some locals believe too many Washington boaters are getting a free ride.

The power is back on in North Idaho homes darkened by November's ice storm - at least for those families who can afford it. Utilities restored power to nearly every home by the first week of December. But people unable to pay their heating bills now are asking for help in the face of dwindling federal money.

The City Council declared a state of emergency on Tubbs Hill Tuesday night, clearing the way for helicopter logging in the popular nature park. By declaring a state of emergency, the council authorized the parks department to bypass normal requirements in hiring contractors. That means the city doesn't have to solicit bids for the job. Instead, city officials will call for proposals and negotiate a contract. During the sparsely attended City Council meeting, Scott Brown of the Idaho Conservation League said he was concerned about the city's intention to cut down trees considered "hosts to further insect damage" in addition to fallen and broken trees. "Essentially, any tree is subject to insect damage," Brown said.

In six years it has helped write eight lake protection plans, co-produced a video on lake health and lobbied for cleaner water - but the Clean Lakes Coordinating Council may soon run aground. The portion of the council's funding that came from the state Division of Environmental Quality dried up this year.

The winners would be loggers and ranchers, and the losers would be streams and native fish, critics say of Sen. Larry Craig's "Forest Health" bill. Environmentalists say the two short paragraphs relating to fisheries and streams in the 100-page bill spell doom for both. Even a timber industry spokesman agrees that the water quality provisions could use some work. But one congressional staff member said that under Craig's bill the federal lands would "get the same level of fish and wildlife protection at a lower cost." According to the bill, activities on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands would be in compliance with the federal Clean Water Act if the activities follow state guidelines.

Risky business 1. Korri McElfresh gets a snow shower while trying to clear enough snow from a potential tree. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review 2. Kerry Hansen leads the way as Ed McElfresh helps wrestle their tree out of the forest.

Wildlife agents are asking for help catching the culprits who illegally shot several moose recently. Since Nov. 24, five moose have been killed by poachers in west Bonner County, according to the agency. Four of the moose were calves and one was a cow.

Eagles are returning to Lake Coeur d'Alene. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

Unpublished correction: The name of Higgens Point is misspelled in this story. This information is from the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation. Ted Page takes a walk on a part of the Centennial Trail not blocked by downed trees. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

The question Tuesday night wasn't so much whether to log Tubbs Hill, but how to log it. Members of the city's Park and Recreation Commission were convinced the threat of falling trees, a fir beetle infestation and fire justifies sending loggers into the treasured park. But first, they sent a small committee of professional woodsmen back into the park to figure out the best way to do it. Their plan will be forwarded to the City Council next week. The urgency to rid the 123-acre park of ice-damaged trees is fueled by many dangerously leaning trees, and the fear that in April a species of beetle known to infest weakened or downed Douglas fir will migrate through Tubbs Hill.

A nurse's aide at Kootenai Medical Center was suspended from his job Thursday when hospital officials learned that he is accused of molesting an 18-month-old child in the Silver Valley. Steven D. Elliston, 23, of Wallace, was arrested by Kellogg police Nov. 19 on a charge of lewd conduct with a minor under 16 years old.