Marsh illegally filled by developer

A Canadian company recently violated state and federal laws by filling a small portion of wetland near Echo Bay, perhaps with the intent to build a parking lot for a new marina and beach.

Kootenai County and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials are now asking Fortress LLC to remove the dirt and gravel from the wetlands that are about 100 feet from Lake Coeur d’Alene’s shoreline off state Highway 97.

“They created what appeared to me to be a parking lot,” said Kootenai County Planner George Evjen. “They had the intention of making a parking lot and eventually putting a marina and a beach down there.”

Evjen said Fortress couldn’t put a marina in the area without first changing the zoning to commercial. And the company needed permits from both the county and the Army Corps to do any fill work or changes to the wetlands that are at the mouth of Echo Bay.

Fortress is currently selling nearly 700 acres of land above Arrow Point to Discovery Land Co. Discovery wants to transform the former Gozzer cow and hay farm into a $100 million private golf course and housing development, similar to the recently opened Black Rock development on the lake’s west end.

Discovery officials said Friday they knew nothing of the wetland violation and that property isn’t included in their Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake Club proposal, which the Kootenai County Commission will hear in February.

Evjen said the back side of the golf course project is just minutes away from Echo Bay. The golf course would stretch along the ridge between Arrow Point and Echo Bay.

“There are no plans to incorporate that parcel into the Gozzer Ranch community,” said Andy Holloran of Discovery.

The Gozzer Ranch plans also don’t include the Arrow Point marina, which is owned by Fortress. But the narrative for the golf community states that Gozzer Ranch residents could use the Arrow Point marina, which is public.

Coeur d’Alene Attorney Bob Fasnacht, who represents Fortress, wasn’t available for comment. Mike Shopka, who runs the Arrow Point Marina and was in charge of the wetlands project, also didn’t return phone calls.

Dan Hurley, who owns property next to Fortress’ Echo Bay land, wrote a letter to the Army Corps Wednesday outlining his concerns about filling in the wetlands.

Hurley said that Fortress had asked to buy a portion of his property this summer, saying company officials were “thinking of developing a ‘beach’ so the owners of homes in a golf course development they are associated with could access the lake.”

He alleges that Fortress has filled other portions of the land as well and asked the corps to do a field survey to show what was filled and what areas need reclamation.

Army Corps officials didn’t return phone calls.

Evjen said a few dirt piles sat on the Echo Bay property for a decade and that Fortress used the material to build up a couple of acres of the site, some of which included wetlands. The company then topped the fill with gravel.

Barry Rosenberg of Kootenai Environmental Alliance said wetlands all over Kootenai County are disappearing because people are illegally filling the areas that are important for wildlife and water filtration. He said the county needs to do a better job of detecting these violations

“Stiff fines should be levied as a deterrent to stop this problem,” Rosenberg said.

Evjen said it’s unlikely the county or the Army Corps will pursue prosecution.

“It’s a very minor violation,” Evjen said. “We just want them to fix what they screwed up and leave it alone.”