PRIEST RIVER — The Idaho Lakes Commission will be wading through an array of notable issues when it convenes for its board meeting on Friday, April 6.

The meeting gets underway at 9 a.m. at the Beardmore Building.

Dale Van Stone, a former county commissioner and current member of the Idaho Water Resource Board, will update the commission on water level management on Priest Lake, in addition to funding for enhancements to the Outlet Bay Dam and reconfiguration of the Thorofare, which links the lake with Upper Priest Lake and is in danger of being filled in by sediment. Drought conditions in 2015 prompted the board to conduct an emergency session at Hill’s Resort, touching off a series of efforts to develop projects that seek to maintain a reliable lake level and access to the upper lake.

“That meeting, in conjunction with efforts of the Idaho Water Resources Board, as well as the efforts of Steve Klatt on behalf of the Bonner County commissioners, resulted in a two-year project to both restore good access to the Upper Lake with regard to the Thorofare, and provide improvements to the Outlet Dam that would allow more water to be stored at Priest Lake in dry years, which in turn would ensure decent streamflow for the Priest River,” Lakes Commission Chairman Ford Elsaesser said in a news release.

Also on the board’s agenda is Kiira Siitari of the Idaho Department of Fish & Game, who will give a presentation on a cold water bypass concept to aid fish populations in the Priest River. Regional Fish & Game Director Chip Corsi, meanwhile, will update the board on the Albeni Falls Wildlife Mitigation agreement between the state and the Bonneville Power Administration.

A representative from the Citizens Against the Newport Silicon Smelter is slated to address the commission, as is former commission Coordinator Kate Wilson, who now represents Montana’s Upper Columbia Conservation Commission.

Wilson, along with Jeremy Varley and Nic Zufluh of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, will update the commission on efforts to combat existing aquatic invasive species and keep new ones from gaining a toehold in the region.

Ryne Linehan of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to provide a presentation on Albeni Falls Dam operations, Flexible Winter Power Operations on Lake Pend Oreille and a planned fish-passage project at the dam.

The commission plans to conclude its meeting with a discussion on improved rail safety and emergency response.

Elsaesser said the efforts of lawmakers, particularly Sen. Shawn Keough, have made it a productive year for lakes issues at the recently concluded legislative session in Boise. Those efforts included a broadening of the statutory charter of the commission so it can be included in renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty.

“There will always be nearly year-round demand for water and storage capacity at Lake Pend Oreille, and those demands nearly always conflict with the recreational lake levels that we believe were guaranteed by the federal legislation enabling the Albeni Falls dam. With expanded jurisdiction and additional funding, we look forward to making sure our region’s voices are heard in the Columbia River Treaty renegotiations,” Elsaesser said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.