OUR GEM: Taking Public Comments Regarding Wetland Protection Rule Changes

OUR GEM: Taking Public Comments Regarding Wetland Protection Rule Changes

by Sharon Bosley, Executive Director for the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission The Clean Water Act (CWA) was created to protect our water resources by regulating discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States. Its goal is to help ensure all waters are swimmable, fishable and drinkable. The purpose of defining the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) is to determine which waterways are protected under the CWA. The definition determines which waters require permits for activities that…

OUR GEM: Northwest Environmental Business Council highlights the Health and Future of Coeur d’Alene Lake

OUR GEM: Northwest Environmental Business Council highlights the Health and Future of Coeur d’Alene Lake

“What if this is as good as it gets for Coeur d’Alene Lake?” Derek Forseth asked as he introduced the panel at the Environmental Symposium, hosted by the Northwest Environmental Business Council on November 6, 2025. The panel session, A Case Study: The Health and Future of Lake Coeur d’Alene, presented Coeur d’Alene Lake as the poster child of the symposium, which was themed, Inland Northwest; Water Under Pressure. Panelists included Caj Matheson, Director of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Natural…

OUR GEM: Local Students Find Excitement with Hands-On Science

OUR GEM: Local Students Find Excitement with Hands-On Science

by Woody Wood, IWRRI Education and Outreach Coordinator It’s a cool fall morning, and I’m standing at the intersection of Burnt Cabin and Ohio Match Roads waiting for a bus load of Venture Academy students to arrive. While I wait here with my colleagues, travelers stop and ask why we have dozens of pairs of rubber boots lined up next to our vehicles. We tell them about the incoming students and the work they are about to do, and they…

New Channel Hangman Creek

OUR GEM: k’wne’ ‘ulchiyark’wmtsut – Fisheries Restoration Connecting Two Restored Reaches

By Bruce Kinkead, Fisheries Biologist, Coeur d’Alene Tribe The Hangman Creek Fisheries Restoration Project began in 2002 and is funded by Bonneville Power Administration under the Fish Substitution Policy to compensate for lost salmon harvesting. Early research found the limiting factors to be lack of connection between channel and floodplain, lack of large woody debris (LWD), excess fine sediments, and high stream temperatures associated with a lack of tree canopy. Initial work on Hangman Creek below the Sanders townsite began…

OUR GEM: Aquifer Model Updates for the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer

OUR GEM: Aquifer Model Updates for the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer

Guest authored by Suzanne Scheidt, Idaho Washington Aquifer Collaborative Board President The Idaho Washington Aquifer Collaborative (IWAC) is a collaborative of Spokane and Kootenai County water purveyors (managers) drawing from the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (SVRPA) and partnering in the shared stewardship of the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer and the Spokane River watershed.     IWAC sponsored an Aquifer Education Training Course on Wednesday, September 24th at the Spokane County Water Resource Center. The morning class provided an update…

Spokane River

OUR GEM: Why the Spokane Ran Low and What It Means for the Future

Guest Authored by: Katelyn Scott, Spokane Riverkeeper Water Protector This summer, we saw stretches of the Spokane River run alarmingly low, and even completely dry. In some places, the thriving waterway we know and love completely disappeared. While it may feel sudden, there are clear reasons behind this—and a vision of how, together, we can keep water flowing in the future. The Spokane River and the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer are two parts of the same system, constantly exchanging water….

IWRRI CdA Staff

OUR GEM: Water Research Updates in Idaho

By Meg Wolf, Assistant Director for the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute The Idaho Water Resources Research Institute (IWRRI) has been busy this summer engaging with water users, water scientists, and water managers across the state. IWRRI is one of the nation’s 54 water research and technology centers. In this role, IWRRI conducts and directs research to support the water resource needs of Idaho, the Northwest region, and the nation. IWRRI also plays a role in facilitating, participating in, and…

OUR GEM: What’s Up at G.O. Phippeny Park?

OUR GEM: What’s Up at G.O. Phippeny Park?

For those that drive up and down 7th Street between Midtown and Downtown Coeur d’Alene, you probably noticed some earthwork occurring this summer in G.O. Phippeny Park located at the corner of 7th Street and Montana Avenue. Have you wondered what on earth is going on? Well, first, let’s step back and talk about the park itself. The park was the site of the original 1910 Coeur d’Alene High School and is named after Geoffrey Otto Phippeny, who was well-known…

Hepton Lake After Wetland Restoration

OUR GEM: Restoration Project Turns Back the Clock at Hepton Lake

By Angelo Vitale, Fisheries Division Manager Last year, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe wrapped up construction work on one of its most ambitious projects to date and something that has been in the works for more than a decade. The Snyihms he mulshu’lmkhw (Swimmer’s Landing among the Cottonwoods) Project is located adjacent to the lower St. Joe River a few miles west of St. Maries, Idaho. During the pre-settlement era, the site was a floodplain marsh and wet meadow and was…

The Big Burn of 1910 Ranger

OUR GEM Ashes in the Current: The Hidden Hydrologic Legacy of the 1910 Fire

By Mark Getscher, hydrogeologist for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe More than a century after “The Big Burn” of 1910 scorched over three million acres across northern Idaho and western Montana, its legacy continues to flow through the streams and rivers of the Coeur d’Alene Basin. While most remember the fire for its devastation and heroism, far fewer realize its silent and lingering impact on water quality. High-intensity wildfires combust vegetation and organic soil layers, converting them into ash. This ash is…