In September 2019, the Department of Lands permitted 14 buoys for placement at strategic points on Hayden Lake. The Hayden Lake Watershed Improvement District launched The Buoy Project early the preceding summer at the urging of the Hayden Lake Watershed Association.
Spring is knocking at Hayden Lake’s door. We are already seeing green sprouting from the trees and the soil – and from the bottom of the lake in some of its shallower reaches.
It’s hard, as individual property owners, to embrace the impact that a single decision – like proceeding with a project before permit approval – has on our surroundings. The effect isn’t immediate, and it isn’t a direct reaction to our choices. It takes time for the chain reaction to play out. Ask the 5, 10, 15, and 20-year residents whether Hayden Lake’s water is as clear, or the bottom as sandy, or the shoreline as raw and unfettered as it used to be.
Northwest Expedition Academy 5th Graders brought their Ecosystem studies to bare on a sticky question with the aid of the HLWID.
The elevation of Hayden Lake, like other small lakes in North Idaho, is not managed. There are no dams on the streams that feed the lake, no gates open or close to control storage levels. There are also no controls on the out-flow. The lake elevation is entirely subject to Mother Nature and human usage.
The popular conversation around Hayden Lake in the last cold days of October was that the lake level is low – lower than expected, lower than normal.
The following is a message from Steve Meyer, the Chairman of the Hayden Lake Watershed
ISDA is planning noxious weed treatment, specifically Eurasian Watermilfoil, in the main-body of Hayden Lake. They anticipate an application of ProcellaCOR, a new herbicide recently approved for north Idaho, will take place between August 22nd and August 25th. This map shows treatment areas marked in blue.
The Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (aka the Forest Service) needs your input on a new forest-health project at English Point.
The mission of the Hayden Lake Watershed Improvement District is to protect and enhance the