RIVER JOURNAL
News & updates from the Spokane Riverkeeper
Spokanites should be educated and aware of the issues facing Coeur d’Alene Lake because the Lake and the Spokane River are connected. I was recently invited along on a boat tour with several board members of the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, and this is what I learned.
The results are in for 2017 and once again we find that Hangman Creek harbors conditions that fail to support our native redband trout, much less the salmon that once swam in it's waters.
We partnered with EWU to look at phosphorous loads in Hangman Creek during the spring of 2017. The amount of phosphorous in our waters is extremely important to primary production in our surface waters, causing algal blooms and (indirectly) low dissolved oxygen in Lake Spokane. Phosphorous is locally regulated in surface water discharges due to it's effect on Lake Spokane,
The Spokane Riverkeeper attended the canoe landing and Salmon Ceremony on the Columbia River at Kettle Falls. Before the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, Kettle Falls served as a sacred gathering spot for tribes and First Nations peoples during salmon runs. The Ceremony of Tears in 1940 was the last Salmon Ceremony held before Kettle Falls was permanently inundated with water and the salmon runs blocked - until 2016 when these canoes were built by tribes of the Upper Columbia River Basin and the journey to Kettle Falls and tradition of the Salmon Ceremony revived.
The Spokane Riverkeeper, along with staff from the EPA and the Idaho Panhandle Health Department will lead a free tour of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site on June 8th. Although downtown Spokane is many miles away from the Bunker Hill Mine, mining operations that began in the 1880s continue to impact the health of downstream waterways from the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River all the way to the Spokane River.
Paul Lindholdt's newest book, The Spokane River pulls together a diverse array of experts and enthusiasts to expound about the River, including past and present Spokane Riverkeepers, Rick Eichstaedt, Bart Mihailovich, and Jerry White, Jr.
Canoes are tippy. After a brief safety talk and paddle demo (provided by yours truly), Uncle Jerry White (your Riverkeeper) treated us to a devotional sermon, and we were off.
What does polluted stormwater have to do with fish hearing? Until today, I’d say absolutely nothing. But in the last weeks, new science points to polluted stormwater runoff as the culprit for damaging the ability for salmon and other fish to hear.
Spokane Riverkeeper Settles Law Suit with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology to Protect Water Quality in Hangman Creek
The Spokane Riverkeeper has settled a federal lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) approval of Washington Department of Ecology’s plan to clean up pollution in Hangman Creek.
From Colorado River tributaries to Humboldt Bay, and from Prince William Sound to the Snake River – over 30 Waterkeepers from the west just gathered near Hood River, Oregon for three days of networking,
The Spokane Riverkeeper conducted a water temperature study in the Hangman Creek watershed in summer of 2017. Our results show that mainstem water temperatures are much too high to support redband trout. However, results were more promising in the tributaries.
A short video comparing turbidity in Hangman Creek and the Spokane River on 2/7/2018
While it may not be apparent, the river that we love, the river that’s vital to our health and economy – needs your help. As your Riverkeepers, it is our job and our privilege to protect and defend your river so that it’s clean and safe for all to enjoy. Here’s a little background on why the river is polluted, why this pollution matters, and some easy steps that we want you to take to keep toxic pollution out of the Spokane River.
Our winter intern, Jake Peterson, takes a look at the potential sources of microplastics in the Spokane River. A previous study found microplastics in over 60% of the fish in the Spokane River, but where are they coming from and why are fish eating them?
What does a dedicated group of anglers do when sediment threatens to bury the habitat of their prized sport fish, the redband trout? Citizen science! Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited (SFTU) is leading a study to understand the intensity and duration of sediment pollution in Hangman Creek and how that effects the Spokane River.
Our guest blogger Erik Rockliffe, an angler of all waters, describes below how and why he fishes small streams. These streams provide a solitary fishing experience, full of adventure, in habitat unspoiled by humans. Read on for the report...
Input wanted! The City of Spokane is upgrading their stormwater management in the Cochrane Basin. Click to read more.
Cleaning the Spokane River isn't easy. One way of doing it is supporting the people and organizations that do much of the expensive work. The Spokane Riverkeeper applauds the City of Spokane's work to upgrade sewer and stormwater infastructure. This work will lead to a much cleaner Spokane River.
Spokane should not be conducting any effort, or be a part of any conversation to weaken Washington state water quality standards that apply to our Spokane River. Any effort on the part of any pollution discharger to weaken standards that have been put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for public health and safety will be met with a robust response from the Spokane Riverkeeper and the rest of Washington Waterkeepers. It is one thing to ask for time to get over a challenging bar… and quite another to work on lowering that bar.
In mid July we received a number of complaints of a sewage smell from just downstream of the TJ Meenach Bridge. We investigated and found the smell to be coming from the Cochrane Basin Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) #12. The sample results of 4.5 bacteria/100mL were of a safe level for water recreation. Through monitoring like this, we can ensure that the Spokane River is safe for all who use the Spokane River.
