Habitat designated for white sturgeon

BOISE – The federal government Wednesday set aside more critical habitat in the Idaho Panhandle for the Kootenai River white sturgeon, an endangered wild fish that has not successfully reproduced in more than 30 years.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service added another 6.9 miles of the Kootenai River in Boundary County on the Canadian border to the 11.2 miles that were protected in 2001 for the largest freshwater fish in North America. The designation means federal and state agencies must consult with the service before undertaking projects that might affect the habitat.

The additional habitat will result in an estimated $370 million to $790 million loss to farmers, hydropower operators and other river-dependent industries over the next 20 years, according to a draft economic analysis done by a Washington state firm under contract to the service.

The fish is found only in a 167-mile stretch of the river from Kootenai Falls, Mont., to the outflow from Kootenay Lake in British Columbia.

The agency’s plan to reverse the declining population of the massive fish that was listed as endangered in 1994 includes increasing water velocity and flow levels in the Kootenai River. Under the plan, more water would be released through Libby Dam, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The higher releases would require installation of additional turbines at the dam, at a cost the corps has estimated at $250 million.

Biologists say the river is moving more slowly than it has historically, allowing silt to fill the river bottom and cover rock crevices where young sturgeon can hide from predators. They believe increasing flows and velocity would clear out sand and silt from spawning beds, providing more cover for young sturgeon.

“The ultimate goal is to recover this species and delist it,” Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Dave Allen said in a statement announcing the interim rule for the expanded habitat protection and a 60-day public comment period on the economic impact estimate.

“Designation of this additional habitat is absolutely necessary to save the Kootenai River white sturgeon from extinction,” said Noah Greenwald, a conservation biologist in Portland with the Center for Biological Diversity.

In June, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Montana ruled in favor of the environmental groups that the service had not done enough to save the fish, and he ordered the agency to set aside additional segments of the Kootenai with necessary gravel riverbed to keep sturgeon from “a slow train to extinction.”

The service had told the court there was no evidence another stretch of the river would be more effective for reproducing the sturgeon, which can weigh up to 1,300 pounds.

The agency has scheduled a public hearing on the new interim rule and the economic impact study for March 16 in Bonners Ferry.