Last weekend we took advantage of the glorious weather and finally hiked the Mickinnick Trail. For those who don’t know, the trailhead is off Woodland Drive. Unlike most trails in this area, it has a sign, parking, and facilities. The hike is 3.5 miles up to the top. It took us an inordinately long time to get up there, not just because we aren’t in the greatest shape, but also because we kept stopping to take pictures. We’d go around a switchback and another jaw-dropping view of the lake would open up before us.
When you see the lake from “on high” like that, it’s easy to appreciate even more what an incredible resource it is. Last year, I wrote about how the weed department wanted to use a product called Sonar to kill a noxious weed called Eurasian milfoil that is in the lake. They failed to get the right permits or notify anyone. Because of their mistakes, the application never happened.
A lot of people, including me, were glad that the lake missed out on the “treatment.” Like any noxious weed, certainly milfoil is not something we want taking over. This year, the weed department is again planning to dump Sonar into the lake. Because they actually notified people correctly, there’s been time enough for a huge public outcry.
People have spoken out on both sides of the issue. Many people don’t want chemicals in the lake where they and their kids are swimming and boating. (Incidentally, it’s easy to find the material safety data sheet for Sonar aka fluridone online.) On the other side of the coin, people are just as adamant that something be done about the milfoil because they don’t want the lake to get gunked up with tangled mats of weeds.
My feeling is that the powers that be should be investigating all milfoil removal alternatives. A little online research revealed that the results of using Sonar are definitely “mixed” at best. Doing something potentially stupid and damaging is worse than doing nothing at all.
The milfoil controversy also brings home a point that has bothered me for a long time. All these people who are busy recreating on the lake every summer are so often silent about the proposed mine that is slated to be built under the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness. Every day, the mine would dump millions of gallons of wastewater into the Clark Fork River that would flow downstream right into Lake Pend Oreille.
If you think a few weeks of Sonar is bad, try years of mine waste. The bottom line is do we really want to jeopardize something as important as Lake Pend Oreille? It’s really difficult to get back a clean lake after you screw it up. Just ask the people in Coeur d’Alene.