City staff confirmed that spongy moth monitoring traps were deployed in Sandpoint and reported some local outreach and media attention, while residents used the meeting’s public-comment period to flag several dying or hazardous trees.
Eric Bush said the spongy moth traps were deployed about two weeks earlier with coordination from the Idaho Department of Lands: “The traps for the spongy moth were deployed 2 weeks ago. All 167 or however many the number was… IDL did a pretty good job of obscuring them so they couldn't be damaged,” he said, and noted a local newspaper article had covered the trapping effort.
In public comment, residents reported a large dying or dead elm on Boyer (near Winter Ridge heading into South Sandpoint) and an aging Norway maple near the park whose drip line had been covered by impermeable paving; speakers urged the commission and staff to inspect the trees and to consider permeable paving for future projects to avoid further root compaction and canopy loss. The commenter asked whether the city tests dying elms for Dutch elm disease; staff said they would investigate and inspect the sites.
Why it matters: spongy moth is an invasive defoliator monitored by state and local agencies; local traps are an early-detection step. The reported dying trees present immediate inspection needs and possible hazard abatement actions if the trees represent risk to the public.