Column: Wildlife

Struggles Continue For Kootenai River Sturgeon

By Joseph Friedrichs, 12-18-09

The first time I crossed the path of sturgeon it scared whatever wits I have straight out of me. It happened several years ago while I was boating on Oregon’s Rogue River. The giant creature sprang from the cool water and my heart skipped a few beats.

And then the freakish fish swam back to the trenches from which it came.

Not all species of sturgeon are rare in Western waters, although news from the federal government this week is white sturgeon in the Kootenai River are facing extinction.  Efforts to save North America’s largest freshwater fish - they can reach 19 feet in length and weight more than 1,000 pounds - continue as officials hope to stave off extinction by sending more water down the river so the fish can spawn in the wild.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday issued a report saying attempts over the past two years to save the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon have failed.

The prehistoric fish live along a stretch of the Kootenai that passes through Montana, northern Idaho and southern British Columbia. It is estimated fewer than 500 white sturgeon remain alive in the Kootenai, and it has been at least three decades since they successfully spawned.

The problem is Libby Dam, a hydroelectric facility in Montana run by the Army Corps of Engineers that serves power markets in the Pacific Northwest, according to Matthew Brown of the Associated Press, When the dam went up in 1974, it stopped periodic flooding of Bonners Ferry, Idaho — but also high water flows that had triggered the sturgeon to move upriver and spawn, Brown reports.

This story dates back several years, with the feds eventually agreeing to alter how they operate the dam. Essentially, water flows were disrupted and it impacted the ecosystem and how fish are able to reproduce. No way? A dam in the West disrupting the lifecycle of fish? Unheard of, isn’t it?

Unfortunately it’s not. All the same, after years of litigation, the feds agreed to alter how it runs the dam and more closely mimic historical water flows. Their plan hasn’t worked, and fisheries officials and the Corps now say they plan to spill more water over the dam next spring.

It could be one of the last chances to stave off disaster for the massive fish: Biologists say it is on track for extinction within the 10 to 15 years unless a fix is found.

Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the group, the Center for Biological Diversity, said Thursday he was “cautiously optimistic” the new measures would work.

“There’s no way of knowing if it will be successful or not,” he said. “We certainly hope so, because the sturgeon is running out of time.”

In other words, the 500 some sturgeon who call the Kootenai home should enjoy life while they can. 

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