Sturgeon Effort Worries Farmers Changes To Libby Dam Could Prove Costly

When Libby Dam started operating in 1974, Kootenai River white sturgeon populations plummeted.

Now Bill Michalk and more than 30 other Bonners Ferry farmers say government-ordered dam changes to help sturgeon could bust them.

A preliminary 1999 study showed the changes could cost upward of $1.5 million in some years, Michalk said.

The farmer, who grows grain and forage and runs cattle along a mile and a half of river upstream from town, put the number in context with 1995 Boundary County census figures.

“It’s approximately a third of our farm net income that’s going to be taken away by these changes,” he said.

Federal officials say they want to keep farm losses to a minimum, but they are also required by law to protect the endangered sturgeon.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week released two proposals to help sturgeon.

One is the result of an analysis of Columbia River dams and how they affect the big, prehistoric-looking sturgeon.

At Libby Dam, the agency is recommending increased and constant flows in spring and early summer to mimic naturally high springtime flows.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydrologist says she doesn’t expect the recommendations to jeopardize flood control or power production.

Though Libby is huge - as tall as Grand Coulee - it provides limited power, according to Marian Valentine, senior water manager for the Seattle District.

The sturgeon protections will end a practice called “power peaking” at least during sturgeon spawning and perhaps year-round, Valentine said. Peaking is when dams release bursts of water to crank out power when electric use spikes. Other dams can probably make up for changes at Libby, Valentine said.

“It would still supply the same level of flood control at Bonners Ferry and in the system,” she said.

But Valentine added that the Corps of Engineers and the farmers define flood control differently. At the government’s definition - river elevation 1,764 feet above sea level - farmers with fields below river level are experiencing flooding.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also hopes to move the flood stage up to help sturgeon. The agency is evaluating that change with the Corps of Engineers, and also evaluating a new trigger for spring dam releases.

Michalk fears the prospective changes at Libby Dam will erode banks, rupture levees and flood crops. In addition, he fears increased costs for pumping water off flooded fields.

Dam managers - who can make up for flood control losses at Libby by adding water storage at Grand Coulee - are short-changing Bonners Ferry farmers, he said.

“It looks like they’ve decided they don’t want to cause seeping and flood damage at Portland, but it’s OK to just flood us out.”

Late last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also released a long overdue “critical habitat” designation for the sturgeon, the last step of the Endangered Species Act listing process.

The agency decided that to survive, Kootenai River white sturgeon need a safe haven in an 11-mile stretch of the wide river that starts at Bonners Ferry and ends just below Shorty’s Island.

That stretch is owned by the state of Idaho, as submerged lands. The designation only affects situations where federal funding or a federal permit is involved.

The agency is required to conduct an economic analysis of potential effects of the designation. A rural sociologist is helping the Corps of Engineers determine the costs of higher spring and early summer flows to help sturgeon.

Kootenai River sturgeon were protected under the ESA in 1994, with critical habitat designation due in 1995.

Last August, a federal judge ordered the federal government to speed the critical habitat designation process, following a lawsuit filed against the government by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The agency is battling a shortage of funding from Congress, officials say. “We’re only able to focus on listing issues that are litigation driven,” said Susan Martin, supervisor of the Upper Columbia USFWS office in Spokane.

Two sidebars appeared with the story: 1. IF YOU GO

Fish and Wildlife meeting

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a public meeting on sturgeon habitat protections in Bonners Ferry starting at 6 p.m. on Jan. 18.

2. DETAILS Comment period

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comment on the proposed critical habitat for Kootenai River white sturgeon through Feb. 20.

E-mail comments to: FW1SPOK-crithab- stur@R1.fws.gov.

Mail comments to: Field Supervisor, USFWS, Upper Columbia Fish and Wildlife Office, 11103 East Montgomery, Spokane WA 99206.

For more information, call (509) 891-6839.

Zaz Hollander can be reached at (208) 765-7129 or by e-mail at zazh@spokesman.com.