At Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper we work to:

Advocate for responsible and diminishing use of aquatic pesticides to control aquatic invasive weeds while facilitating diverse methods of biocontrol.  We continue to work at all levels of government to overcome the current roadblocks to the necessary research needed in order to make biocontrol a reality.

Invasive weeds such as Eurasian Watermilfoil are in our lake, and inhibit recreation in swimming areas and boat ramps and negatively impact our ecosystem. This plant has been treated with herbicides with very limited, short term success using millions of taxpayer dollars. The herbicides are hazardous to our health and the health of our ecosystem. During every treatment, drinking water and irrigation restrictions are put in place and are often misunderstood by the people that are directly impacted.

Reduce nutrient loading into Lake Pend Oreille and its tributaries using a multifaceted approach including: advocating for the limited availability of phosphorous-containing fertilizers and encouraging its responsible use, holding violators of improperly treated wastewater discharge accountable and fostering sound stormwater management.

By example, the Pend Oreille River and the near-shore area of Lake Pend Oreille are impaired by excess amounts of phosphorous.  However, Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requested that the federal EPA remove the Pend Oreille River from their list of impaired waterways.  Despite Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper’s effort to challenge this, the EPA recently accepted DEQ’s request.  We intend to contest this decision as it contributes to the continuing degradation of water quality.

Discourage inappropriate uses of Lake Pend Oreille including excessive lake level fluctuation and the potential removal of lake waters to augment the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer in dry months.  Lake level fluctuation causes substantial erosion, particularly in the Pack River and Clark Fork deltas , which are popular tourist destinations.  Erosion also releases excess nutrients into the water, which feed the aquatic invasive weeds that ruin many recreational activities.  Furthermore, we cannot allow the delicate ecological balance of Lake Pend Oreille be compromised in order to support over-consumption of water resources in Washington State.  In this day and age, we must not think of water as a commodity, but as a precious resource and we cannot allow this negative precedent to be set.

Prevent dramatic increase in coal transport through our community on uncovered trains.

What if every day over 40 more, 1.5 mile long trains full of coal came through our community, halting emergency response, spewing diesel particulates and coal dust, shaking our homes, threatening our health and safety? This is very possible, as coal companies are looking to make it a reality. Our community would not benefit one bit if this proposed project went through. There would be no new jobs, no revenues, nothing! Click the below image for more information.