Yocum Lake measures would help anglers, loons

Pend Oreille County officials are working on measures that would make Yocum Lake more available to fishermen and more hospitable to nesting loons.

Earlier this fall, the county acquired 80 acres at the south end of the 41-acre lake in a land exchange with Stimson Lumber Co. That’s good news for anglers, who often were unable to access the lake early in the spring fishing season.

The lake just southeast of Ione is now surrounded by public land managed by either the county or the Colville National Forest.

The Forest Service road to the north end of the lake is very rough any time of year and often impassible in spring. Stimson Lumber often locked a gate across the only other access road that went through its property early and late in the season.

Ron Curren, county public works director, said he’s procured funding for minor improvements to the road, which should provide safer and more reliable access to the lake.

The county currently has no other plans for improvements, he said.

However, the county commission is looking into prohibiting internal combustion engines on boats that use the lake. If adopted, Yocum would join about 70 lakes in Eastern Washington that have some sort of restriction that prevents fishing from boats with internal combustion motors.

The proposal stems from disruption a few boaters have caused to anglers and wildlife, Curren said.

“We’ve had reports of at least one guy in there with a 40-horse gas-powered motor on a boat in that tiny lake,” he said. “He was just roaring around the lake, which is a cool place to be, but not when somebody’s doing that.”

If the Forest Service agrees, the county will consider a ban on boating with internal combustion engines in time to have the rule listed in the 2007 Washington Fishing Regulations pamphlet, Curren said, noting that the lake is well-suited for using boats propelled by muscle power or electric trolling motors.

The Forest Service is likely to agree, said Mike Borysewicz, Colville National Forest biologist at Sullivan Lake.

“Keeping bigger boats and motors off the lake would be a positive thing for the loons that have tried to nest on Yocum,” he said.

Loons nested there and fledged a chick in 2001, but they have not successfully nested since then, he said.

“This year the nest was active and it had one egg, but for some reason the egg disappeared from the nest. It could have been swamped by a boat making a big wake.”

Borysewicz noted that many people are fond of the ban on gas-motor boats at other area lakes, such as Browns and Pettit.