Lake Coeur d’Alene needs to be protected by us all. Perhaps over the years some of us have failed or surely fallen short. In current times many of us view the lake as a recreational highlight and an economic benefit. One group of us over the years has maintained a somewhat higher regard for the waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene.Friday, Jan. 31, noon at the Iron Horse, 407 E. Sherman Ave., our guest speaker is Phil Cernera, the Director of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Lake Management Department.
After receiving a BS in Aquatic Wildlife at the University of Idaho in 1982, Mr. Phillip Cernera started his formal career as a Fisheries Scientist working on Russian and Japanese fishing boats in the Bering Sea. After that he started working in Indian country and never looked back; first as Fisheries Scientist for the Shoshone Bannocks Tribes conducting salmon research and habitat restoration in the Salmon River drainage, then as a private consultant working in the Clearwater and Clark Fork drainages. In 1992, Phillip took a job as Superfund Program Manager and Restoration Coordinator for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Now, some 28 years later, Mr. Cernera is currently the Director of the Tribe’s Lake Management Department.
