Meeting Notes

Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative

June 26th, 2006 – 7:13 p.m., Boundary County Library

Bonners Ferry, Idaho

Committee Members in Attendance:

Darrell Kerby, City of Bonners Ferry & KVRI Co-Chair

Dan Dinning, Boundary County Commissioners & KVRI Co-Chair

Gary Aitken, Sr., Kootenai Tribe of Idaho & KVRI Co-Chair

Sandy Ashworth, Social/Cultural/Historical (Boundary County Library)

Tony McDermott, Fish & Wildlife (Idaho Fish & Game Commission)

John O’Connor, Conservationist/Environmentalist (Idaho Conservation League)

Jim Cadnum, Landowner/Industrial (Forest Capital)

Ed Atkins, Jr., Corporate Agriculture (Elk Mountain Farms)

Bob Blanford, Business/Industry (Riley Creek)

Patty Perry, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho & KVRI Facilitator

Kristin James, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho & KVRI Recording Secretary

Agency/Others in Attendance:

Kevin Greenleaf, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho

Susan Drumheller, Idaho Conservation League

Chip Corsi, Idaho Department of Fish & Game

Robyn Miller, The Nature Conservancy

Luanna Falcon, City of Bonners Ferry Council

Stefany Bales, Senator Crapo

Mark Compton, Congressman Otter

John Martin, Senator Craig

Jeff Knetter, Idaho Department of Fish & Game

Vaughn Paragamian, Idaho Department of Fish & Game

Opening:

Dan Dinning welcomed everyone to the meeting at 7:13 p.m.; introductions followed.

The minutes from the May 12th meeting were reviewed and approved as presented.

Gary Aitken, Sr. updated the group in regards to the Salmon Biop meeting which he attended in Oregon. In attendance were the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Yakima, and Warm Springs Tribes all better known as the Lower River Tribes and the Upper Columbia River Tribes which are the Spokane, Colville and Kootenai Tribes. The seven sovereigns, as they are called, and the federal executives met to discuss solutions for the salmon recovery. The first six hours provided no progress, however, Gary mentioned the Tribes heard about the flooding and the Colville’s and Spokane’s are at the lowest point below the dam which receive all the water pressure. The point was made that the VARQ must be revisited this summer and considered. Gary also stated not all tribes were in agreement.

Patty Perry gave more background for those folks who have not been exposed to everything that has taken place in the last couple of weeks. She stated the operation of the Libby Dam and the operation of the reservoir have several things which are taken into account. Flood control is one, but also the biological opinion that was written for the recovery of the sturgeon, the biological opinion that was written for the recovery of the salmon in the lower rivers, and the VARQ which changes the way the water is held in the reservoir and the way it is released from the reservoir. This calls for not drawing down the water so far in the winter and refilling the pool sooner based on trying to meet fish recovery needs.

The federal executives that Gary mentioned previously are policy makers with Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other sovereign tribes.

Dan Dinning, in agreement with the other two commissioners, wanted to make it clear to the people the process that occurs in the event of something like this. When there is an emergency declared that a disaster services team is established they take control and operate under a militaristic style others determine who the communications person is. In this event, Darrell Kerby was appointed communications person. The reason for that was so others wouldn’t ask questions of those people who don’t know, they could go to Darrell and get consistent and up to date answers.

Dan also mentioned there was some good that came out of this event. The county road and bridge foreman developed a way to fill sandbags out of the back of the sand truck.

Patty thanked the congressional staff that came up and sat through a lot of long and arduous meetings and helping wherever they could.

Committee Updates:

Smith Creek Working Group:

Jeff Knetter updated the group in the absence of Dave Wattenbarger. There were issues with high water up Smith Creek in relation to the high water in the Kootenai River. He noted Boundary Creek is really high, but overall looks fine. They are doing what they can to monitor what’s going on and the water level.

Chip Corsi added that the group hasn’t met since the last KVRI meeting took place. The next meeting won’t take place until late July. The group has done a great job with the limited amount of funding they have received. There will be a dedication call taking place in late July for all to see the work the group has done.

Jeff also added thanks to the county for paving an overlook on the Westside road. Currently there are two sign planks up, and one of the signs will be put up by the dedication.

Sturgeon Update:

Vaughn Paragamian started off by mentioning the sturgeon spawning period ended early June and by default this has been a very unique and opportunistic year. They have collected over 700 eggs, most were found at Shorty’s Island way down stream. On the other hand, there were about 12 tagged sturgeon which traveled to Ambush Rock. Also, three adults were found above Bonners Ferry, this is the first time any of the sturgeon has been recorded with transmitters above Bonners Ferry. The high water came late in the sturgeon spawning season but still may have benefit the fish. The other big opportunity that the Idaho Department of Fish & Game has, in cooperation with the Kootenai Tribe, is that models of the velocity and sediment transport, that were completed under contract with U.S. Geological Survey, projected what would happen at 50,000 cfs, 60,000 cfs, and 70,000 cfs can now be validated. It is a very opportunistic time to look at certain studies and validate the hypothesis or show that they were wrong. These studies will give a better explanation of what to expect from the sturgeon.

TMDL Committee:

Patty Perry brought the group up to date by mention of their work with IDEQ where they sponsored the Open House on May 23rd. There was light attendance, which was expected, due to the numerous meetings previous to the Open House and anyone interested or wanting information had already attended prior to this event. There have also been adds in the paper for the public comment period which is still open. As soon as that period ends Bob Steed will come back and present any comments that were received and thoughts or responses that were given after having the chance to work with the committee and putting that together.

Grizzly Bear Committee:

Patty Perry explained there will be a grizzly bear meeting coming up on Thursday, July 6th at the Tribal Office. The committee met in May and looked at the brochure. They are still looking at ways to improve the brochure and are currently looking at different examples of signs to place around the area. At the next meeting Mike Herrin and Pat Hart from U.S. Forest Service will be talking to the group about signage particularly in some of the back country areas. Also, the group plans on working with Idaho Fish & Game to have a display at the county fair. Patty mentioned to the group about the display that was put up last year. KVRI had their own booth, however, this year they have an opportunity to display information with the Idaho Fish & Game or KVRI could once again have their own booth. At this time, Patty questioned the group on their feelings for the display. The comment was brought up that KVRI should have a display in a booth of their own.

Old Business:

Patty Perry brought up the a discussion that took place at one of the meetings prior; Patty and the co-chairs of KVRI worked to put together a letter for the board members for reappointment. Letters have been drawn up and co-chairs have all approved and signed them. For those who are now serving, the letter was put together for their consideration. At this time, the letters were distributed to those in attendance---Mike Herrin and Dave Wattenbarger were not present at the meeting. There letters were mailed to them.

Another point Patty made was in the introductions at the beginning of the meetings, in the future it would be easier for all to know what their role is as KVRI members if they were to introduce themselves as what they represent on the board and the reason they are there, not for the company or organization they work for during the day. It’s not the job that’s done during the day they represent, it is a broader representation.

New Business:

Patty Perry brought up the Vital Ground newsletter which was distributed to the board and several copies were provided for those who were interested. In the newsletter there was an article pertaining to the KVRI group which was located on page 8.

Chip Corsi added information regarding the fluorescent stripe which is located on the dam at McArthur Lake. He explained there has been some settling observed. Engineers have reviewed the situation and a summary report will be available soon. He further explained they had an incident like this about 12 years prior. There hasn’t been any movement of the dam recorded, but there has been settling observed.

Jeff Knetter added that if a person were to stand on the top of the dam facing the south side there is a visible loss of soil. There has been sand found at the bottom side of the dam but there has been no confirmation as to where the sand came from.

Patty Perry updated the group on the conference Gary Aitken, Sr. and she attended in Savannah, Georgia as a partner with the Panhandle Lakes Resource Conservation & Development Council to give a presentation on KVRI. It was a great four day conference with good attendance. There were several presentations with many other success stories going on around the nation that they had the opportunity to learn from and hear what others are doing. Overall it was encouraging, inspiring and informational.

At the next KVRI meeting, the group can expect two updates on the McArthur Lake area. ITD has hired the Langdon Group to help with the public involvement portion of the Highway 95 re-alignment. They are hoping and planning that they can provide information back to KVRI at the July meeting. Jeff Knetter also mentioned they will be holding an open house on July 18th.

Also, Patty added Rich Clough, who has been meeting with private land owners and talking about mapping and doing work on wildlife movement in the Naples area is putting together some information. He stopped by the Tribal Office last week to ask for permission to give an update to the KVRI group at the July meeting also.

Another update, Patty mentioned an email which was sent out regarding the news release stating that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is seeking comment on Idaho’s request to manage wolves north of Interstate 90. There maybe some presentations on this topic at future meetings.

Next Meeting:

The next meeting will be held on July 17th at the Boundary County Extension Office.

Comments & Questions:

Before adjourning Dan Dinning made the comment that the fish below Libby Dam are displaying symptoms of gas bubble trauma. The long term effects are unknown at this time.

Sandy Ashworth mentioned a question that was brought to her attention was the effects the water level had on the dikes. Darrell Kerby went on to explain to her, and the group, that when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was in the area they explained the longer the river level is up (duration period) it affects the amount of saturation the dikes take on. The water level was high for a long duration of time. If the officials were to shut down the release too quickly, the Corps has seen in similar incidents where the dikes have actually been sucked into the river. It is the super saturated nature of the dikes that until the river recedes, there is no effective way to tell that what you are walking under has anything underneath it or not. Currently they are not safe; people should not be out there looking because it could be very dangerous.

Dan Dinning also added the ban has been lifted and boats and water craft are allowed on the river again. However, he warned to use extreme caution as there is a lot of new debris that has been washed downstream.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.