Kootenai River Sturgeon

The Kootenai River and its White Sturgeon population is unique for several reasons. Firstly, it is one of 18 known landlocked populations of Sturgeon in the Pacific Northwest. More importantly, the Kootenai

Sturgeon is a genetically unique strain of Acipenser transmontanus. Lastly, the Kootenai strain is in serious peril, with the possibility of extinction within the next thirty years.

The Kootenai River's headwaters lie in Northern Idaho. The River flows north through Montana and eventually into British Columbia,Canada. The Sturgeon population is currently restricted to approximately 270 river kilometres in the Kootenai River from Kootenai Falls, Montana, located 31 river miles below Libby Dam(Idaho), downstream to Cora Linn Dam at the outflow from Kootenay Lake, British Columbia.

The Kootenai River population is naturally landlocked and has been naturally isolated since the last glacial age 10,000 years ago. Using electrophoretic analysis, scientists have been able to differentiate between the Kootenai Sturgeon and the Sturgeon found in the Columbia River. These fish have evolved into a truly unique strain.

Kootenai Sturgeon are facing numerous obstacles to their long term survival. Prior to 1974, the fish would breed successfully in the rivers strong flows. The year 1975 saw the construction of the Libby Dam within Idaho. As dams have a tendency to do, Sturgeon habitat was drastically affected. The dam altered water flows and natural temperatures. Where historical flow levels had peaked around 1,500 m3/s, post dam flow levels during the critical spawning period have rarely exceeded 500 m3/s.

The dam has altered the traditional spawning habits of the Sturgeon. Kootenai Sturge' are attempting to spawn in sub-optimal habitat below Bonners Ferry where the river is slow and has a sandy, silty substrate, leading to suffocation of the eggs and high predatation rates. Research has shown that the juvenile Sturgeon population is less than 1% of the total. The last successful breed year was 1974, so the population, which is was estimated at 880 fish (1991), is all over 25 years old. With no intervention, within thirty years this stock will become extinct.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed The Kootenai River as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1994. Various groups are taking measures to help save the Kootenai Sturgeon. The Centrer for Biological Diversity is campaining to have the Libby dam decommissioned and removed. A hatchery program was instituted in 1991. Hatchery reared Sturgeon, from wild Kootenai broodstock stock have been recaught in test fisheries, so juvenile fish are able to survive in the system. The next decade will decide the fate of the Kootenai Sturgeon.