Lake Sakakawea stakeholders shared their views on the site for a proposed new marina at Fort Stevenson State Park Thursday, but most left the meeting believing the project was doable.

"There were some issues brought up, but nothing that sounded insurmountable," said Patsy Crooke, the project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Dick Messerly, Fort Stevenson's superintendent, left the meeting feeling upbeat.

He called the meeting "very positive. There's always the potential for something to come up, but it didn't look like there were any glaring problems."

The purpose of the meeting was to listen to representatives from various agencies "to answer upfront a lot of the questions on their minds," Messerly said.

Crooke stressed that many of the individual agency concerns can't be fully addressed until the design for the new marina is finished. The new marina would be located near the existing low-water ramp on the park's Garrison Bay side.

On the list of preliminary concerns:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for protecting threatened and endangered birds' nesting sites.

Terry Ellsworth, a biologist with the Bismarck office, said if either the endangered interior least tern or threatened piping plover is affected, the USFWS would ask for timing restrictions.

"To do the work outside of the nesting season probably would not have an impact," he said. "If there are no birds in the area and there's no historic nesting, it's not a big issue."

Also on the table is protection for spawning game fish.

"The area has some crappie and walleye," said Bruce Kreft, resource biologist with the state Game and Fish Department. "We don't want to interrupt potential spawning, but we should be able to work with them."

Another concern, Kreft said, is keeping silt and sediment under control during the construction. Options could include restricting in-water activity during the spring spawn to erecting silt fences.

On the whole, Kreft said, "it looked like a pretty good proposal."

Water quality issues also have to be factored in.

Mike Sauer, senior scientist with the Division of Water Quality for the state Department of Health, said it was too early to tell.

"But I suspect there are no water quality impacts," added Sauer, who did not attend the meeting.

Crooke said that the corps "will coordinate with the tribes as well and get their input on the project."

The proposed marina will be designed to handle lake levels from 1,860 feet above sea level to 1,790 feet, Messerly said.

"We would be able to get a concessionaire in who would know he could come in the following year and continue operation," Messerly said. "It would bring stability to the Garrison community, too." The marina has been operational only 10 of the last 20 years because of low water, Messerly explained.

The park would not abandon the old marina, either, Messerly said. Some of the ideas under consideration include moorings for sailboats and some dockage along the shoreline.

All of the agency representatives called this proposal better than a 2002 plan that pitched dredging the existing marina area. That plan, they said, was loaded with environmental issues.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., announced Monday that the corps had pledged $5 million for the new marina project, with construction possibly to start in the spring.

Once the applications are submitted, the corps will publish a notice and invite public comment. Messerly expected the permit application to be submitted in two weeks.

"We will see what the final design does and what comes back from the public and agencies and see what comes," Crooke said.

(Reach reporter Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or outdoors@bismarcktribune.net.)