Parks Board Decides to Keep All Parks Open (2/4)

Email from Senator Gary Schroeder just confirmed that the Parks and Recreation Board has decided to keep all the parks open.

Senator Heinrich is also involved and sent this email:

"I have been talking with Park & Rec board members and yesterday a group of concerned citizens and elected officials met with the board and they did take action to take back Dworshak Park as one of theirs. Now we will have time to work out cooperative agreements with the county and other interested parties, such as yourself.  I was happy to be a small part in continuing the Parks operation as it is so vital to Clearwater County.  Thank you for your comments."

Parks Board Unanimously Vote to Reconsider Dworshak (2/4)

Everyone I talked to thought it was a long shot, but the parks and rec board seems to have seen the light. Makes me wonder what gets said to who behind closed doors. In my opinion, I think democracy
(a.k.a ..political pressure) is working here......

Here are some excerpts from the Idaho Statesman article:

"About 30 state and county officials and others from North Idaho attended Wednesday's meeting prepared to make their case to the board not to close Dworshak. They were pleasantly surprised
when the board announced it would reconsider."

"The board unanimously voted to reconsider its decision to close Dworshak Park in North Idaho."

"The board was under political pressure...."

See the full article here.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/1067263.html

In my opinion, I think a lot of people talked and emailed our government leaders
about Clearwater County's situation.
 
The reservoir that covers the once wonderful North Fork of the Clearwater was promised to be a recreation destination April through September had now become difficult to use because of the
drawdowns. The once dominant timber industry dwindled because of environmental concerns. Unemployment is at record levels and along comes a decision by the Parks and Recreation
Board to close Dworshak, adding one more straw to the back of an economically suffering community. This did not make much sense.

Dworshak park was very close to being self supporting. With some cost savings efforts and possible fee increases, it could be self supporting. I do believe user fees will rise no matter who runs the park. In meetings this fall before the park closure, a few of us boaters worked with the state to agree on a fee increase at the marina. We agreed an increase of 10% was acceptable and warranted.

The Parks and Recreation folks are cutting 25 management jobs in the "paradigm shift" they are currently implementing. This obviously means they had way to much overhead consuming funds that should be getting back to the ground, supporting parks that the people who pay the taxes that create those funds can enjoy. This makes sense.

I urge you to continue (or start) to express your concerns to our goverment leaders that Dworshak Reservoir and it's Parks are something this community needs.

Our District reps are:

Senator  Leland  G.  Heinrich,  (R)
Representative  Ken  A.  Roberts,  (R)
Representative  Paul  E.  Shepherd,  (R)

You can search on and email them on these sites:

http://legislature.idaho.gov/about/contactbydistrict.cfm

Senator  Gary  J.  Schroeder,  (R) is already going to bat for us from Latah County. Send him a thank you and express the concerns on the Dworshak Park closure. He prepared a bill that would dissolve the parks board and make the parks director a gubernatorial appointment.  Parks and Rec board Chairman Steve Klatt said, "He wanted to get our attention. Well, he certainly got my attention,".

Another excerpt from the Statesman article. Clearwater County can’t afford this... If you agree email a representative and tell them!

“shuttering Dworshak, would also be a hardship on the county because of the lost jobs and economic benefits of the park....... The park generates an estimated $2.5 million a year for the region's economy.”

I also suggest you contact our federal reps. Let them know what you think. They do listen.
http://www.contactingthecongress.org/cgi-bin/newseek.cgi?site=ctc&state=id

You can just copy and paste the following into an email to any of them.  Edit it as you see fit but you need to send it or they do not know you are concerned.  P.S. Don't forget to thank Schroeder!

I am a concerned resident of Clearwater County and I believe we need Dworshak State park to remain open. The parks are a vital part of the local economy. I would appreciate any help you could provide in keeping the parks open and enhancing the recreation on Dworshak Reservoir.

Worst Case Scenario - Dworshak (2/4)

I met with the Corps of Engineers this past week and the worst case scenario is that the State decides to not open the park and the county decides it is too much of a task to take on. In that case, the local corps folks would collect moorage fees to allow boats to reside at the marina. They are exploring a card lock system for the fuel at the marina. That would be about all that would be offered. No camping at Freeman Creek or Three Meadows, no staffed marina sales. They have already taken over adjusting the docks as the water levels change. Just doing this much would mean some other maintenance will have to be reduced.

Local Corps Folks are not the Bad Guys (2/4)

The local Corps of Engineers employees are not the bad guys in this whole reservoir scenario.

They did not build the dam or pass the environmental laws that protect the fish the draw down is protecting. They are not closing the state park. They have done everything in their power (and sometimes a bit outside of that) to maintain and keep Dworshak facilities open. They have hard working crews that work with small budgets to keep things working. The local managers constantly try to get more funds from their leaders in Walla Walla and Washington to maintain and enhance Dworshak. They deserve our thanks.

Corps to host Invasive Species Training (2/4)

On Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Doug Mann will be at Dworshak Dam Visitor Center teaching Level 1 training to check for invasive species. Doug is a certified instructor thru the 100th Meridian, and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the United States Fish and Wild life service. He has taken the instructor course on Zebra & Quagga mussels. He has been contracted by the Idaho Dept. of Ag. He is also the South Idaho Conservation Director for the Idaho Bass Federation Nation. The training will start at 8 a.m. and continue most of the day.  I suggest you call the Corps of Engineers Office at 208-476-1255 or 208-476-1256 for more information.

Sheriff, Corps, State and others to host water safety fair (2/4)
 
There will be a collaboration by many, lead by the Clearwater County Sheriffs Office to host a water safety fair on the lake this spring. Details and times are still in the works but some of the planned activities are:

Boat safety  inspections (at Viewpoint overlook)
Invasive species inspections (at Viewpoint overlook)
Life jacket EXCHANGE for children
Music
Food
Kids' water safety activities/games
Kids' prizes and they promise
MORE, MORE, MORE FUN STUFF!

Dworshak State Park Discussions Continue (11/16)

The County Commissioners decided to approach the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Board (IDPR) and request they consider working with the Clearwater County to keep the park open by subleasing the park to the county. The Commissioners are looking into the possibility of coordinating efforts between adjacent counties, cities and local organizations to operate under an IDPR sublease. The advantage being that the IDPR has the reservation system in place and already has the lease agreement in place with the Corps.

Commission Chair Don Ebert and Sheriff Chris Goetz met with the IDPR folks in Boise. Don Ebert indicated the IDPR was very receptive to the idea and is exploring the mechanics of such an agreement. He said the IDPR Board was “ecstatic” over a possible solution to keep the park open and is willing to work with the county.

The Dworshak Reservoir Association has been mentioned as one of the entities that may share in the operations of the marina. There are many players involved; a key to the success of any solution is the coordination of the myriad of groups interested in supporting the marina and park operation.
The county hopes to hear from the state next week on their discussion on the possibility of the proposed sublease. The results of that discussion will determine the counties next move.

The possible silver lining in the dark cloud of the possible park closure is that now that the county and possibly other interests could be involved in park management, more funds may become available to move forward with the marina wave attenuator project that came to a halt when the state pulled its contribution. The wave attenuator enhances the moorage at the marina by protecting the existing moorage from storms and increasing moorage for larger boats.

Dworshak State Park Discussions Continue
Clearwater County Commissioners Meeting , Monday, November 9

The meeting in the courthouse Monday afternoon attracted a number of community and government leaders. Looked like everyone the Clearwater County Commissioners invited attended. This was a good thing as a lot of the folks that needed to know what is going on were in attendance. The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) briefed the group on how they arrived at the decision to close Dworshak State Park.  Nancy Merrill, IDPR Director, David Ricks, IDPR deputy director, who was interim director as this decision developed, David White, IDPR North Idaho Field Bureau Chief and a Steve Klatt, Chairman of the IDPR Board, represented the state.  Many of the employees from the park were also in attendance.

It was very good to see that most of the Idaho State legislature representatives were in attendance as well as representatives of U.S. Senator Mike Crapo and U.S. Representative Walt Minnick.
The Corps of Engineers representatives from the local office as well as Todd Czarnecki, Corps Real Estate Division Chief from Walla Walla Corps District headquarters were in attendance. The  Lewiston and Moscow Chambers of Commerce were represented as well as the City of Orofino and the Clearwater County Commissioners. There were enough other interested public attendees to over flow court room 2 into the hallways!

Ricks presented the timeline of a number of budget reductions that convinced them they had to do something as drastic as closing a park to preserve some of the other parks and their services.  He indicated it would not be right to have all the parks open with so few services they would not be able to function properly and would not be enjoyable to visit.

So they looked at all the parks and identified which ones they do not own. In that group they identified which ones had cost share agreements. The cost share they looked for was a written agreement with some other agency that insured that operating costs of the park are shared. They looked at park visitation, location and expenses versus revenue.

Dworshak Reservoir

They narrowed it down to Dworshak, Hellsgate and Lucky Peak. Dworshak was the hardest to manage because of its three individual sections and the drawdown. They decided to turn it back to the Corps.
The IDPR board member assured us numerous times that the decision to close Dworshak was not an easy thing to do and they realize it is going have a negative effect on a lot of people.   Department director Nancy Merrill repeated numerous times that this was a hard decision and that IDPR has done everything in their power to try and come to an agreement with the Corps on how to keep Dworshak open.  

The requirement in the state / corps agreement that mandates a twelve month notice of the abandonment of the park was discussed. This requirement which would give the Corps, the City of Orofino and the County time to find a resolution to this problem and keep the park open was apparently not going to be enforced, Czarnecki, Corps Real Estate Division Chief indicated they were already starting the transition / reclaim of the park and starting the process of looking for another entity to run the park. Corps representatives have said they will not hold IDPR to the 12 timeline, they see the writing on the wall that the state was going to turn the park back no matter what and a legal battle would not do anyone any good.

The comments from folks at the meeting indicated that they felt the state acted in haste, did not inform the Idaho state representatives of their proposed action and that they have not considered enough options to keep the park open.  The state representatives informed the IDPR representatives they felt the lack of communication with the state reps was an error in the IDPR procedures that led up to the announcement of the decision to close the park. The IDPR felt that they had considered enough options. The IDPR reps were asked directly by the Commissioners if they would reconsider the decision to close the park based on what they have heard in the last two meetings. The IDPR Board member indicated that to say they would reconsider their decision to close Dworshak would be misleading the commissioners. They made their decision and indicated they would stick to it.

In my opinion, it sounded to me that some of the higher powered state folks at the meeting may be asking the parks department to reconsider or come up with some other interim solutions.
Ideas and statements presented by the folks in attendance included:

-Why not look at leasing / outgranting a profitable park in a more populated area where it would be easier to find some private entity to run it and use the savings / profits to subsidize the less economical parks like Dworshak. That is squarely in the mission / mantra of Idaho Parks and Recreation: “To improve the quality of life in Idaho through outdoor recreation and resource stewardship.”

-IDPR had considered raising the Dworshak park entrance fee $1, but that would net about $6000, far short of the $145,000 they are short to keep the park open thru June. They also think that the problem will not go away in 2010 and that budget shortfall may be worse, forcing the closure of other parks as well as Dworshak.

-IDPR had not factored in raising the moorage rates at the marina as had been agreed upon in late September by a group of boaters that David White met with to discuss the marina moorage rates. (See other story below about that meeting.)

-IDPR had not factored in the negative effects that the park closure would have on the surrounding economies, if you save $145,000 and cause an economic detriment of $250,000 or far greater, that is a not in the best interest of the state. It was suggested that the state commerce and fiscal experts be asked to look into that matter.

-Orofino Mayor Ryan Smathers indicated that the local area can’t afford another economic hit like this and that the political repercussions of this closure cover a much larger area than just Orofino, as shown by the attendance of Lewiston and Moscow city leaders. In my opinion IDPR appeared to have considered that Clearwater County’s low population would be easiest to handle politically.

-IDPR indicated that Dworshak had no real cost share agreement. It was stated that there is not a formal budget share cost share for the park operations, but the local Corps maintains and repairs anything that costs over $5000 to fix, all the docks and anchors, provides very economical power from the dam, maintains the rest room, parking lots, ramps and roads, including snow plowing. The state gets all the revenues. The Corps current contribution of services to the operation of this park is substantial.

-The federal representatives are looking into and asking the Corps to see if there are any provisions for the Corps to get into more of an official substantial cost share with the state to aid in the management of this park. The federal reps indicated that the Army has a very complicated chain of command to go thru to get something like this considered and our current representatives are more concerned with health care and other budget items at this time.

-The overall feeling in the room from everyone in the room was they wanted and needed to keep the park open. The state said they had a budget problem and the closure / turn back of this park was their best solution. That is their decision to make and they had made it. IDPR leadership apologized and sympathized with the local folks for the hardships this decision will bring nuemrous times. In my opinion this repetition of the same apology and sympathy over and over resonated with the undertone that this was a done deal and that IDPR was not going to look very hard or at all at any other solutions. It was the nicest way they had to tell us they are done with Dworshak. In my opinion, that is exactly what they wanted us to hear. The problem now belongs to the Corps, Orofino, Clearwater County and surrounding area.

-It was also apparent that the group thought they should consider finding a way to keep the park open while the Corps and others look for other solutions. Hopefully the Idaho representatives will suggest the IDPR come up with some solution other than immediate closing of the park.

-IDPR felt that the leasing of the park to another entity was not their responsibility and that should be in the hands of the owners, i.e. the Corps.

-The overall tone on the room was friendly. All the representatives were thanked by our Commissioners for attending.  Everyone realized this is a tough situation brought on by tough economic times and were looking for a solution.

In my opinion, the state did realize that this is a tough decision with some substantial adverse effects, but they do not realize and did not take into account the full scope of the negative effects. The ramifications of this closure are far more than they realize or considered.  The IDPR should be asked to reconsider their actions, look further into the ramifications of closure, look at other solutions and for sure at least find some way to adjust time line of the closure. Delaying the IDPR abandonment would give the Corps and County more time to find a solution. Our state representatives should direct the IDPR to do so and the Corps of Engineers should work with IDPR to keep the park open.  

In my opinion, the state parks folks are using the budget shortfall as a good reason to unload a very difficult park to operate. I think that some of their managers have wanted to unload this park for years and this is the window of opportunity. The drawdown has substantially reduced the value of this park in the states eyes. The state is within its decisional powers to do so, but the ramifications and timeline need to be fully reconsidered.

In my opinion, our federal reps need to request the Department of the Army consider the local Corps of Engineers be given a budget to run the parks. The dam took the North Fork, the endangered fish are taking the reservoir water, the first state cut back took the marina improvements that would have help keep the marina viable, the wood products industry continues to reduce and unemployment is way above the national average. The closure of this park would be one more nail in the local economies coffin.

In my opinion, if the park does get leased to another concern you can be sure that many of the fees and rates will be increased substantially to make it a profitable business.  There may be a fee to launch a boat on Dworshak. Camp fees, moorage rates, fuel and entrance fees may rise. Although that is not easy to swallow, the alternative of a closed park is even harder to live with.

The only conclusion I could see at this meeting was that the procedure to terminate Dworshak State Park has now officially started. The Corps has acceped the fact that IDPR is not going to run the park and the Corps is going to look for someone else to run the park. Trouble is they may not have enough time.

In my opinion, we need to work together to find a workable solution. There seems to be a number of small pieces that could be part of a solution to this dilemma if they were all coordinated and implemented. Raise some fees, cut some costs, delay the closure, look for federal funds and/or find another operator. The IDPR should work with all the entities to keep this park open, reconsider the ramifications, find another solution to funding the park and /or use some interim measures to keep it open while other solutions are implemented. Just throwing the park back into the surprised Corps lap is not "improving the quality of life in Idaho through outdoor recreation and resource stewardship."

I appreciate the efforts of our County Commissioners and they deserve everyone’s thanks for the coordination role they have played so far in this ongoing event.

Read the IDPR news release on the meeting.

More details in the Clearwater Tribune article.

Future of Dworshak State Park 11/3/09

The Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation is proposing to close Dworshak State Park. The department needs to find a way to operate on a reduced budget, a result of the slow economy, and closing Dworshak Park is one of their options.

There are three sections to the park. The main camping area at the mouth of Freeman Creek, the Three Meadows cabin area just up the hill from the camping and the marina at Big Eddy. These are all on federal land managed by the Corps of Engineers. The state leases all park sections from the Corps of Engineers.

There is a $145,000 budget shortfall for this fiscal year 2009. The states fiscal year ends in June. So that means they will run out of money to operate the park before the recreation season starts in the spring. Indications are things would not be any better budget wise for the next year 2010. The park board's proposal or solution to their budget shortfall is to close the park and terminate the lease with the Corps.

This Monday 11/2, the Clearwater County Commissioners, City of Orofino, Corps of Engineers, Orofino business people and a substantial group of concerned citizens met to discuss the matter and brainstorm how to proceed from here. Everyone in that group wanted the park to remain open.

Some observations and comments by the group:

-Statistics on the park's department web site show use has increased 35% over the last year. Seems the slow economy which is driving the closure of the park has folks recreating closer to home.

-The Sheriff's Department and CPTPA rely on the marina and fuel. There is a safety / access concern if the facility was not available.

-The parks department was asked for a detailed line item budget listing costs of the park operation. Are there ways to reduce operation costs? That detail has not yet been provided by the state.

-Some folks thought the Governor's budget cuts on state agencies is a move to trim the overhead in these agencies and consolidate the management of programs state wide. Cutting some government overhead and getting the money to the ground and the people may be a good thing.

-Some folks thought this was a move by the state to get the Corps of Engineers (Federal Government) to share more of the cost of operation of this park. The state already has most of the money making portions of the parks and the Corps does most of the costly large labor and repair work.

-The Corps does not currently have the budget to operate the facilities. Paul Pence indicated they would have to look for things to not do on the lake to shift funds to operate the park facilities and he could not say if that was even possible. The Corps would most likely look for some other entity to take over operation of the park. There are other Corps holdings in Idaho operated by private individuals / corporations.

-Soliciting for another operator would take considerable time. The lease agreement with the parks and recreation department requires the state to give the Corps 12 months notice that they would be terminating the lease. This would give all parties involved time to come up with some solutions. At this time the state does not seem to be putting much stock in that requirement. That 12 month notice requirement needs to be further addressed. It would give all parties concerned time to discuss solutions

-The Nez Perce Tribe who ran the marina in the past, has expressed some interest in the situation. They are also waiting on the detailed park budget figures from the state.

-The parks board facilitates the park closure by presenting that recommendation in the budget that they submit to the state legislature for approval. Their budget would not fund Dworshak State Park and probably make the recommendation to turn it back to the Corps of Engineers. The legislature can approve or disapprove the proposed budget.

-The closing of Dworshak State Park would have economic effects. First of all, park employees will be laid off. There will be domino effects on the local economy. When people visit the park they spend money on local businesses, such as restaurants, fuel, food and recreation equipment. (It was noted that the park has operated without a manager for a year and half and seems to be doing just fine. Maybe there are other managers we can do without?)

-Recent studies on Orofino's economy indicated that expanding the recreation facilities on Dworshak would be a great thing for Orofino's economy because there are users that would use those facilities. There are waiting lists to get boats moored on the lake and the park turns visitors away on occasion because it is full. There is a need to expand, not close facilities.

-Orofino lost a prime recreation area when Dworshak Dam flooded the North Fork of the Clearwater. They were told the reservoir created would provide similar recreation. Since then the fish recovery drawdown reduced the quality of that recreation.

-Environmental concerns have all but ended the woods products industry in the area, once the main economic / employment provider in the area. Now they want to end what little recreation draw we have left on the lake. Like the Lewiston Tribune editorial indicated, "how much more can Orofino afford to lose?"

-The City and County are going to meet with the State next week to continue the discussion on the proposed closure of Dworshak State Park. The parks board will be invited to the meeting so they can answer some questions on how they made their decision. Hopefully more discussion and more information will lead to some solution or at least identify what the next step is going to be....

Check out the Associated Press article on this park closure proposal in The Olympian.

As soon as more information becomes available it will be posted here.

DRA Thanks to Supporters 10/6

The DRA would like to offer a sincere thank you to the folks that donated to the DRA effort. Your financial and volunteer support continues to provide this venue for sharing information and helps us influence and enhance the management of the Dworshak Reservoir. We received donations from out of the area folks that came and enjoyed our wonderful lake as well as the normal local folks and businesses. Thank You!

Fall Sunset looking east from Fred Bay

Dworshak Big Eddy Marina Boat Moorage Fees 10/6

The Idaho Parks and Recreation folks invited a number of boaters to a meeting on 9/23 at the Big Eddy marina to discuss moorage rates. Dropping budgets has the Parks and Rec board considering raising
park fees across the state and this includes the moorage rates at Big Eddy.

About 15 people were invited and 4 showed up.

The group reviewed existing moorage rates around the state. Dworshak had the lowest current rates.

The factors affecting moorage at Big Eddy discussed were the remoteness from a major population center, the fluctuating water level, limited amenities, separate boat required to access house boats (few have slips for this boat).

The group arrived at the following consensus.

-Need to pay an equitable amount based upon slip size (width X length) and not boat length. In the past a small boat taking up a full slip paid less than large boat taking up the same slip.

-Current rate is close to a reasonable amount, recommended suggesting to the Parks and Rec Board that they consider an increase 8-10% for 2010. (The group could see that a raise in rates was going to happen and wanted to recommend something within reason.)

-Future annual increments should be only 1-2%.

-Part of revenue should be kept in a fund to repair and upgrade marina facilities.

If you have any comment on this proposal please let me know and I will forward to the Parks and Rec folks. DRA Email

Water is 80 feet down, lower parking out at Big Eddy

Wave Attenuator / Big Boat Moorage 10/6

The engineering is completed on the wave attenuator. We have an excellent set of plans from matrix Engineering. The Corps approved the project and system for Big Eddy Marina. The attenuator would have protected the marina from weather damage and facilitated possibly enlarging the marina. It would have also provided moorage for larger boats, starting with moving the houseboats off of the failing buoys.

The next step was for the Idaho State Parks and Rec Department to request bids on the construction of the system.

Unfortunately the Idaho State budget has dwindled as the current economic situation lingers. A state wide review of the budget indicated a need to cut the Parks and Rec Budget by 7.5%. We were told earlier that a 4% of over cut would mean this project would not move forward at this time. Clearwater Economic Development folks did meet with the Governor to discuss the project. He was aware of the project but the budget situation would be the deciding factor. It is unfortunate for Dworshak and Orofino that this project is stalled but it makes sense to not start a new project as the budget shrinks. They did not want to cut other essential services or personnel to fund this project.

We do have the plans and approval to go forward. Hopefully down the road the economy recovery will bring the project back into consideration.

Lake Pump Outs 10/6 (UPDATE 10/9)

The fall weather approaches freezing temps. The Corps has announced that they will shut down the
pump outs on Tuesday, October 13th. Last year the weather cooled faster than they anticipated and they shut them down before the planned date. If you need to pump your boat I suggest you get there as soon as possible. THE CORPS WINTERIZED THE PUMP OUTS THURSDAY DUE TO THE COLD FRONT TAKING US TO 22 DEGREES TONIGHT AND THRU THE WEEKEND. They did say if you have a dire need to pump out, contact them and they will activate the pump.

P.S. WINTERIZE YOUR BOAT ENGINE TODAY! A CRACKED BLOCK IS A VERY EXPENSIVE FIX.

DRA Web Site 10/6

The DRA web site has been approached by an advertising agency to place an ad on the site for a yearly fee. The proposal stated that our site:

"would be a good match for our client, whose target demographic is similar to your own. We're working on their behalf to acquire advertising from quality websites such as your own."

We were quite pleaseed with the praise and proposal but are concerned over the possible content of the advertisng and the payment offered. The DRA Board is looking further into the proposal.

Bruce's Eddy ramp at low water, a few brave fisherman

Salmon Educational Program at Dent Campground 8/20

The Dworshak Natural Resources Management staff invites visitors to learn about salmon migration during a campground interpretive program at the Dent Acres campground group sun shelter at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5.

Marina Wave Attenuator and Large Boat Docking 8/20

The project slowly moves forward. A meeting this Wednesday of the advisory committee discovered some minor typos in the final package. The Corps final approval is supposedly in the mail. One possible hang up is the State is now negotiating with Corps to get them to take over maintenance of the system. The Corps has offered to assist in the maintenance if they are reimbursed for wages and equipment which they have offered to the state at a reasonable rate. I am concerned this may be a critical wrench in the works. The Corps has maintained since the get go that they would not be able to assume the costs of maintenance, the State is the one changing their position as their budgets diminished.

I suggest there should not be any maintenance on the new system for a while barring an emergency situation caused by weather. Why not set up an account that some of the moorage funds go into to accrue to be used as marina / attenuator maintenance. This should have been done all along for the last 10 years. It appears to me that most of the funds collected at the marina have gone directly to Freeman Cr Campground part of Dworshak State Park and very little to the marina.

The Clearwater County economy could really use a boost and larger boat facilities on Dworshak would do just that.

If the State and Corps come to agreement on the maintenance situation, the next step is for the state to put the project out for bid. Keep your fingers crossed or better yet, let Butch Otter know that you support this project. Maybe he can get the state parks moving along.

Lake Foam - Corps Provided Information 8/18

The lake foam that you observed is a result of a combination of factors. The first is that during this time of year there is greater primary production occurring, this results in increased oxygen and other gasses in the upper water column. With the increased production there is also an increase in
decaying organic matter, i.e. dying phytoplankton, that results in a reduction of the surface tension of the water. Once you add wind to the equation the situation is right for the production of lake foam. Lake foam is a naturally occurring phenomenon that can be impacted by increasing the
productivity of the lake. The wind stirs up the water adding even more gasses to the upper water column. Since the surface tension is lower the water and air mix into bubbles. This is the same thing that soap does and why it foams, it reduces the surface water tension allowing the formation of
bubbles. Once the bubbles are formed, usually in long parallel lines, they can continue for a while and a gentle breeze can concentrate them into the islands of foam you observed. This can be disconcerting for the public but it is not a hazard other than an aesthetic one. In a few days time, or even with a shift in the wind patterns the foam will disperse.

Based on what we have been seeing in the chlorophyll a and in the phytoplankton samples the reservoir is slightly more productive this year than in past years. This observation and with the right wind conditions is likely the cause of the foam islands you are observing.

Darren Brandt, Aquatic Ecologist

News 8/17

Bass Fishing

Bass tournament this past weekend. Looks like these folks know what they are doing, largest weighed in at just over 6 lbs.