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Bonner County installs Narrows buoys; committee sets Aug. 1 application deadline for future buoys
Summary
Bonner County Parks & Waterways reports two buoys installed at the Narrows and outlined a new process for buoy applications, including an Aug. 1 deadline for this year and on-site verification before formal approvals.
The Parks & Waterways Advisory Committee reported that two buoys have been placed at the Narrows and that the county is formalizing a new application and inspection process for future buoys. Matt Zoller, director of Parks & Waterways, said the county installed one buoy at each of the two points mapped on GIS but that maintenance crews raised concerns about the shelf where at least one buoy sits and are testing whether it will hold through the summer.
The committee described a new schedule for buoy applications: applicants must submit buoy applications by Aug. 1 so Parks & Waterways staff can “ground-truth” locations in August and September and bring verified applications to the October meeting for formalization. Zoller said, “we will go out and look and just kinda see the circumstances on the ground. And if it meets those qualifications, we'll just go ahead and approve it, and then we'll bring it to the meeting to formalize it.”
Committee members also discussed a longstanding hazard-buoy request raised by former member Jim (last name not specified). Zoller and other members urged that Jim submit a formal application so staff can evaluate it under the new process. The committee agreed staff would consider submitted applications and perform site visits; because buoy approvals require an application and are governed by county guidelines and state permitting, the committee did not take a final vote at the July meeting.
The county reiterated that buoy guidelines are posted on the Parks & Waterways page of the county website and that successful applicants must still complete any required permit steps with the Idaho Department of Lands. Zoller said the online application form has already produced some applications and that staff will notify applicants if their proposed locations do not meet the criteria; applicants may then present at the waterways meeting in October.
The committee emphasized that the guidelines are voluntary procedural rules (not codified law) and that staff site visits will inform final approvals.
Ending: The committee framed the Aug. 1 deadline as a one-season timeline to allow staff to inspect sites and bring verified buoy applications to the October meeting for formal action.
