US officials hope to keep lake full into late September

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Reasonable efforts will be made to keep Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho full into late September, say federal officials in a letter to Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter.

In a news release Monday, Otter said the federal officials’ clarification of operations at Albeni Falls Dam will give greater certainty to area residents about summer lake levels when recreation is a popular. “I am pleased to say that we have achieved a new process going forward that I think will maintain and enhance the scenic and recreational value of Lake Pend Oreille,” Otter said in a statement.

David Ponganis, programs director for the Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Greg Delwiche, deputy administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration, sent the letter Friday.

It’s in response to two letters sent by Otter last year, one in August and one in September, regarding his concerns about the management of lake levels.

The letter to Otter sets specific objectives as federal officials attempt to balance flood-control, power-generation and fish-habitat requirements with recreation.

However, the letter doesn’t change any policies in the Water Control Manual concerning lake levels, said Scott Lawrence, an Army Corps spokesman.

Otter sent the letters after area residents voiced concerns that federal officials might start lowering the lake earlier in September. The Kalispel Tribe in Washington state said doing so could benefit fish with cooler water in the Pend Oreille River.

But the letter to Otter notes that the tribe eliminated that possibility as discussed at a public meeting in Sandpoint in northern Idaho on Oct. 23. Lawrence said computer modeling showed that early releases from the lake wouldn’t cool the river enough to benefit bull trout. Instead, the letter to Otter says the Bonneville Power Administration will make other efforts to support the Kalispel Tribe’s efforts to protect fish habitat.

Keeping the lake higher late into September for recreation poses problems in bringing the level down before kokanee, a popular sport fish, start spawning in November, Lawrence said.

Once the fish start spawning in shallow lake areas, he said, the lake can’t drop farther because it would leave fish eggs uncovered.

“This isn’t a bathtub,” said Lawrence. “We can’t pull the plug. It takes time.”

But having too much water in the lake, he said, could cause problems with flood-control efforts later.