Many of you may not know that the entire Mill Pond was fairly recently, completely restored. Wood pilings from the former Mill had been driven through the clay bottom and as they aged and began to rot, water started leaking around them, until it totally dried out. In 2002, the Spirit Lake Restoration Foundation, an Idaho nonprofit organization, took on the massive task of restoring our Mill Pond back to its former glory. Using heavy machinery to scrape up the leaking areas, lining them with 15ft wide filter fabric and 2 foots worth of the excavated material.

I love how the natural habitat was the focus of this project, leaving purposeful undulations for fish, placing logs for the fish to breed and seek refuge and planting natural grasses and wild flowers. This is a fascinating 10 min documentary on the project that I encourage everyone to watch.