Timber Industry Amends Lake Law

A House committee on Tuesday endorsed a timber industry bill that would amend an obscure law that now designates the shores of Priest, Pend Oreille and Coeur d’Alene lakes as public recreation spots.

The committee vote came over the objections of Rep. Jim Stoicheff, D-Sandpoint, who said the 1927 law has nothing to do with timber harvests. Instead, it’s designed to place recreational uses ahead of irrigation and power projects, he said.

The bill adds a clause to make the old law not apply to state endowment land - including more than 200,000 acres adjacent to Priest Lake.

Southern Idaho committee members overwhelmingly voted to move the bill to the full House .

Grumped Stoicheff afterward, “I wish these guys would leave our lakes alone.”

, DataTimes