Boulder blast plan hits snag
The boulder at the left side of the frame has been navigational hazard for boaters. (Photo courtesy BONNER COUNTY SHERIFF MARINE PATROL)
SANDPOINT — A plan to blast a troublesome boulder near Priest Lake’s Bartoo Island has fizzled.
Bonner County officials were hoping to obliterate part of the boulder with an explosive charge so it no longer poses a navigational hazard for boaters.
“We’ve had three boats within recent years hit this thing,” said sheriff’s marine patrol Lt. Cary Kelly, who estimates the stony protuberance has caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage during that time.
Kelly said the triangular boulder on the southwest side of the island juts out of the lake by several feet when the water is drawn down, but lurks just several inches below the water’s surface during the summer.
The boulder is more than 200 feet from shore, which keeps it out of the county’s no-wake zone.
“Somebody could hit this thing going pretty fast,” said Kelly.
With the help of a certified explosives expert from the U.S. Forest Service, the plan was to shear 2-3 feet off the top of the boulder.
The plan hit a snag last week, when the county went to the Idaho Department of Lands to get its blessing.
“They basically said, ‘no way,’” Kelly said.
Navigable waters rules in the Idaho Administrative Procedure Act do not speak directly to blasting in a lake bed, said Mick Shanilec, IDL’s area manager for Priest Lake.
Shanilec said the department is concerned that allowing the demolition work would set a precedent for something that’s not addressed in the rules. There is also potential for negative effects to water quality and fisheries, he added.
“Numerous other navigational hazards currently exist on Idaho waterways that are effectively addressed through marking with buoys,” Shanilec said in an e-mail to The Daily Bee.
Shanilec said the department would look favorably on a permit application to affix a marking buoy.
The county has considered marking the offending boulder with a buoy, although concerns remain that it could be hit at night, when the marker would not be visible.
Kelly expects the county’s Waterways Advisory Board to revisit the issue.