Protecting Cutthroat Trout in Some Lake Bays

Protecting Cutthroat Trout in Some Lake Bays

This story was written by Jon Firehammer on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, April 9, 2023. Read the original article. For those who love viewing wildlife, the southern end of Lake Coeur d’Alene can be a great vantage point in the spring for catching migratory tundra swans that are making a pit stop on their migration northward to their breeding grounds in Alaska. However, in some cases, the white objects that you may…

Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Wild and Scenic Film Festival brings awareness about water issues in our area and beyond This story was written by Cynthia Rozyla on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, March 19, 2023. Read the original article. The Kootenai Environmental Alliance(KEA)/Lake Coeur d’Alene Waterkeeper is pleased to present the Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Friday, March 24 at the Schuler Performing Arts Center on the NIC Campus. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., films begin…

Aquifer Atlas 5th Edition Available This Spring

Aquifer Atlas 5th Edition Available This Spring

This story was written by Guest author: Seth Oliver on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, March 5, 2023. Read the original article. The 5th edition of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (SVRPA) Atlas is set to be printed and available early this spring. The SVRPA Atlas is a collaborative effort of groundwater professionals, water quality experts, environmental specialists and science educators from both Washington and Idaho to disseminate the most up-to-date information on…

From the Mountains to Our Gem of a Lake

From the Mountains to Our Gem of a Lake

This story was written by Peter Youngblood on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, February 19, 2023. Read the original article. Lakes and rivers in Northern Idaho are beautiful and inspire thoughts of recreation on warm summer days. However, these surface waters are also critical to our water supply and rely on one major thing — snow. The Coeur d’Alene-St. Joe Basin, which includes Coeur d’Alene Lake and the area that flows into it,…

Climate and the Health of Our Gem

Climate and the Health of Our Gem

This story was written by Laura Laumatia/Coeur d’Alene Tribe on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, February 05, 2023. Read the original article. When our temperatures dip below zero, it’s hard to imagine how overall warming temperatures might be impacting our lake. Unfortunately, despite some frigid stretches, Coeur d’Alene Lake is already experiencing increases in temperature that can impact many aspects of its ecological health, including water quality and fish habitat. As part of…

CDA Basin — Fish Consumption Advisory

CDA Basin — Fish Consumption Advisory

This story was written by Dana Swift on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, January 22, 2023. Read the original article. In January 2020, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and Coeur d’Alene Tribe, in coordination with the participating organizations in the Idaho Fish Consumption Advisory Program (IFCAP), updated the Coeur d’Alene Basin Fish Consumption Advisory, Public Advisory Charts_CdA_Fish (idaho.gov), after testing showed high levels of mercury in some species of fish. Efforts to…

Institutional Controls Program, Lead Health, and What it Means to You

Institutional Controls Program, Lead Health, and What it Means to You

This story was written by Guest author: Mary Rehnborg on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, January 1, 2023. Read the original article. The history of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site (BHSS) is a long and complicated one. Cleanup of legacy mine waste throughout the site began in the late 1980s and continues today. But cleanup isn’t so easy at the BHSS. Several factors limited the types of remedial options available here. Factors such…

bull trout

A Brief Coeur d’Alene Lake Fishtory

This story was written by Guest author: Erin Plue, Trout Unlimited on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, December 18, 2022. Read the original article. Did you know that some of the first train car occupants traveling from the eastern United States were baby fish? Early train cars were fitted with fish tanks, allowing people to bring their favorite familiar fish species with them to the waters of the West. This is just one…

Protecting Our Greatest Resource

Protecting Our Greatest Resource

This story was written by Guest author: Jason Peppin on behalf of the Our Gem Collaborative team for the CDA Press on Sunday, December 4, 2022. Read the original article. One of the greatest treasures North Idaho has to offer is the abundance of surface water and groundwater. As our area continues to develop, effectively managing impacts of wastewater disposal to this precious resource is becoming increasingly important. Although our area boasts some of the most advanced municipal wastewater treatment facilities…

Managing Stormwater

Guest author: Chris Bosley, City Engineer for the city Coeur d’Alene For the sake of the lake’s health, the City of Coeur d’Alene has been working to reduce the amount of untreated stormwater runoff that enters Coeur d’Alene Lake and the Spokane River. Stormwater runoff in the southeastern area of the city is collected and conveyed through pipes to thirteen outfalls along Coeur d’Alene Lake and the Spokane River. Stormwater discharge into the water is permitted under the Idaho Pollutant…