A Short History of DLPOA

Adapted from “A Short History of DLPOA,” compiled from the Association's newsletters (updated February 2023). Download the full PDF.

DLPOA was started on October 4, 1974. The stated purpose, from newly elected president W. A. (Bill) Twitchell, was “to band together to protect the Lake and, with the strength of group deliberation and commitment, adequately field the community problems involved.” The issues of the day included the ecological impact of the proposed Mountain Shadows development (and its open sewer lagoons), shoreline management, the PUD water and sewer project, solid-waste disposal, roads, and water safety. The first $471 came from 17 Deer Lake property owners; 42 more later added $1,100. Those 59 charter members each got a gold card.

The sewer & water system

First proposed in 1975, a lake-wide sewer took nearly 20 years. After studies, denied petitions, a short-lived attempt to incorporate a “City of Deer Lake” that could have blocked it, and a long hunt for funding, construction proceeded through the early 1990s — pipe was even run across the narrows over the frozen lake one winter. Most of the system was complete by the fall of 1992. Along the way the roads were improved, fire hydrants went from 3 to 36, and a water system was added for areas that lacked one.

Roads

Improving Southwood Shores Road was a multi-decade saga — guard rails in the mid-1990s, a $1.9M state award in 1994, completion in 1995, and renewed county chip-seal work in 2023. The board has long pressed Stevens County to pave or oil the area's gravel roads.

Fish & wildlife

DLPOA ran its own fish hatchery in the early years; when state stocking declined and the hatchery faced power and vandalism problems, the Association moved to volunteer-tended fish pens with automated feeders in 1991 — a program that continues today (now with an otter-proof surround). A 1985 Eastern Washington University study warned that the lake's eutrophication was accelerating, which was part of the case for the sewer. In 2012, a series of summer fishing outings for disabled veterans began.

Boating & safety

After serious boating accidents, DLPOA bought a boat for the Sheriff's Department in 1983 (sold in 2002 when the county stopped supporting it). Knight EZ Dock donated a dock for the public access area in 2012, greatly improving launching and handicapped access. Warning buoys mark the Sunrise Point sand bar. Homemade barrel-and-jug buoys are illegal; proper buoys may be placed up to 100 feet from shore, where boaters are expected to slow to no-wake speed.

Fire department

DLPOA has long helped fund equipment for the Loon Lake / Deer Lake fire department — the Deer Lake fire house got its start around 1981, the first annual pancake feed fundraiser ran in July 1982, the station was expanded in 1988, and cold-water rescue equipment was added in 2012. An Eagle Scout project installed fire-danger signs that year.

Water quality & milfoil

The board funded water testing as early as 1982. Cattle in the wetlands north of the lake were found to be washing nutrients in; that property was eventually protected by Fish & Wildlife. Eurasian milfoil — first noted at Loon Lake in 1997 — was confirmed in Deer Lake in 2007. A $50K Department of Ecology grant funded early control, and a Lake Management District (LMD) was formed to fund ongoing work; it has been renewed repeatedly (most recently in 2021). Zebra mussels are the next threat, which is why Idaho and Washington run boat-inspection stations on major highways.

Properties, signs & cleanups

DLPOA bought the 22-acre property in the narrows in 1986 to address runoff concerns; members voted to keep it. The Dock Demo Day began in 1984 to remove derelict docks — and the wood from those docks became the Deer Lake entrance signs, replaced most recently in 2021. The semiannual road cleanups were formalized in 1990 and continue with many volunteers.

Community life

A 4th of July boat parade and professional fireworks began in 2001, joined by a kiddie/community parade in 2002 and followed each year by a DLPOA community picnic. A New Year's Eve gathering at Deer Lake Resort started in 2012; an August “Pig Out at Pinelow” potluck began in 2009. The website launched in 2001 as dlpoa.com, a Facebook page followed in 2012, and the site was modernized in 2017 — and again, now, with this rebuild. The Annual Meeting moved from June to August in 2018 so more people would already be at the lake.

Dues

Dues were $12 a year from the beginning, raised to $15 in 2001 and to $20 a few years later (to cover directors-and-officers insurance) — where they remain. In 2013 a “Big Bucks Club” (a play on Deer Lake's name) began recognizing members who give $100 or more.