As development adds second dock, the Spokane Riverkeeper program takes a fish eye view of the controversial plan to plant more than two dozen docks along a scenic and biologically important stretch of the river.
Undoubtedly upping the stakes in a growing controversy, another dock has been added to a stretch of the Spokane River, east of Millwood, which is thought to be ecologically important for the river’s struggling native Redband trout
The Spokane River at Coyote Rocks
population. The second dock was apparently added within the past week. It is near milepost 13 on the Centennial Trail, a quarter mile west of the first dock that was built last winter.
Earlier this month, fisheries expert Wayne Daley and recently retired Washington Department of Ecology biologist Doug Pineo visited the Coyote Rocks area of the river at the invitation of Spokane Riverkeeper attorney Rick Eichstaedt. CFJ Communication Director Tim Connor shot the embedded video which includes underwater photography of the river bed and the first Coyote Rocks dock.
The Department of Ecology has joined with the Riverkeeper and other organizations, including the Spokane Chapter of Trout Unlimited, to oppose the proliferation of docks in the area. In a petition filed by Ecology in May, it alleges that the docks planned for this stretch of the river “will result in complete degradation of the shoreline” in violation of the state’s Shoreline Management Act.
The second dock at Coyote Rocks development.
In the video Daley explains the significance of the Redband trout and why this stretch of the river may be important to the ability of the fish to spawn and mature. Pineo takes a somewhat broader perspective, not only talking about the Redband but the diversity of other fish, birds, and riparian wildlife that are threatened by the encroachment of development in this area.
