North Fork Wish List Task Force Urges Host Of New Rules, Amenities For Coeur D’Alene River Section

More dump stations and trash boxes. Access areas for anglers and floaters, complete with parking and toilets. Strict sanitation rules for RVs parked in the flood plain. Limits on personal watercraft.

Those are among 47 recommendations made by a task force whose members want to protect the water quality, scenery and tranquility of the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River.

Now the ball is in the government’s court - mostly, in Shoshone County. County Commissioners Jim Vergobbi and Sherry Krulitz were among those who met with the North Fork Coeur d’Alene Task Force last week to get copies of the 17-page report.

Vergobbi praised the dedication of business people, property owners and agency officials who met regularly for three months to come up with the plan.

“It’s a tough issue,” he said of the need to protect the pristine stretch of river. “It isn’t all going to happen tomorrow. But if we ever get it done, it’ll be a model for some other places, like maybe the St. Joe River.”

Each task force recommendation is paired with an agency that has authority to act on it, such as the U.S. Forest Service, county planning commission, Idaho Department of Water Resources.

The report is presented as an appendix to the 1983 Coeur d’Alene River Master Plan, which was created by another citizens group. That plan was never put into action. Meanwhile, population growth in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene areas, combined with better roads, resulted in many more people coming to North Fork country to play.

There is widespread concern that the 70-mile North Fork, with its granite cliffs and clear water, is being loved to death. The lower 13 miles is privately owned, and has seen a dramatic increase in the number of recreational vehicles parked on its shores each summer. The upper part is national forest land, where camping is booming.

The task force arose from a handful of people who do business along the river. They’ve been fretting about human waste finding its way to the water, about litter, about the increasingly cluttered scenery.

Last summer, Murray bed and breakfast owner Claudia Childress sent a letter to county, state and federal officials asking that something be done.

“It was getting to be a real mess on the river,” Childress said last week. “Something had to happen.”

The activism raised eyebrows, especially among owners of recreational property who feared they were being targeted. But all parties were represented in the 17-member task force. It met every other week from December through mid-March.

Eleven members were from agencies, including the county planning department, Idaho Division of Environmental Quality, and Coeur d’Alene River ranger district.

Ken Lustig of the Panhandle Health District served as moderator. He appreciated the task force’s emphasis on education of campers, rafters and others - rather than strictly law enforcement - to protect the river.

“They said, `We have a responsibility to let people know what our expectations are,”’ Lustig said.

He was credited by task force members with keeping the discussions cordial.

“He handled it great,” said Chris Dorton. “There were no arguments, no fighting, no screaming.”

Every summer, Dorton and his wife park their trailer on a friend’s property along the river. It’s their getaway.

He said he’s happy with the task force report but fears it won’t get anywhere. One reason is the cost of improved services. Among those being recommended is keeping campgrounds open during hunting season to limit the amount of human waste being left at undeveloped sites.

“Every time you talk to the Forest Service or the county, they don’t have any money,” Dorton said.

Some hot issues will face the county planning commission, Childress said. One question is what to do about recreational lots that got electrical hookups, despite an ordinance that said they shouldn’t because they lack approved septic systems. The 1997 ordinance hasn’t always been enforced, Childress said.

The ever-touchy matter of personal watercraft is on the table, too.

“Shoshone County Waterways Advisory Committee should consider this issue,” reads the report. “However, it is the opinion of the Coeur d’Alene Task Force that above Enaville the river should be preserved for floating and fishing with a very restrictive view of any personalized motorcraft use.”

Personal watercraft and hovercraft on the lower part of the North Fork are starting to raise hackles among nearby homeowners as well as with rafters, said task force member Joe Peak.

“It’s not just a safety issue, it’s a noise issue also,” he said. “It’s very peaceful out there. There’s a feeling of being one with nature.”

The task force will get together again in the fall. Meanwhile, Lustig will take what he calls the “no-frills list” of recommendations to the various agencies.

“I think we’ll make good progress on this in the next year and a half,” Lustig said.

This sidebar appeared with the story: AREA North Fork of Coeur d’Alene River is 70 miles long.