FISHERIES -- A documentary film about the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon is debuting next week at screenings from Helena to Coeur d'Alene.

The sturgeon, an ancient fish species, has been imperiled by operations of Libby Dam.

From the filmmakers:

Ten thousand years ago Kootenai people painted pictures of white sturgeon on the rocks above the lake where they lived. These impressive fish, the largest and one of the oldest in North America, were an important part of the tribe’s diet and the inspiration for their elegant sturgeon-nosed canoes. Now, dikes and dams have changed the river system so much that sturgeon no longer successfully reproduce. But the people whose culture is bound up with these fish and the people who control the river today are working together to restore the Kootenai River White Sturgeon to their ancestral home.

Screenings in this region with discussions by fisheries biologists, include:

• Bonners Ferry, at the Museum on March 20 at 7 p.m.
• Libby, at the Little Theatre (Maki Theater) on March 25 at 7 p.m.
• Coeur d'Alene, at the Library on March 27 at 2 p.m.