Fish & Wildlife designates white sturgeon critical habitat

The Western News

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially last week designated an 18.3-mile stretch of the Kootenai River as critical habitat for the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon, a rare fish found in Idaho, Montana and British Columbia.

Critical habitat is designated in the braided reach, which begins at River Mile 159.7 below the confluence with the Moyie River, and extends downstream within the Kootenai River, into the meander reach, to RM 141.4 below Shorty's Island.

Environmental groups that brought suit against the Fish and Wildlife Service praised the action.

“Finalization of critical habitat is welcome news for the Kootenai River white sturgeon,” said Noah Greenwald, science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The sturgeon is on the brink of extinction and desperately needs restoration of critical habitat to survive.”

This designation becomes effective Aug. 8.

During the public process, two modifications were made from an interim rule in 2006:

€ To more accurately reflect the best available science, the minimum depth necessary for spawning site selection by white sturgeon in the Kootenai River was increased from 16 feet to 23 feet.

€ This final rule corrects the river mile totals stated in the interim rule to clarify that 7.1 river miles are being added to the 2001 designation of 11.2 river miles, for a total of 18.3 river miles. The area designated as critical habitat in the interim final rule remains unchanged in this final rule.

One of 18 land-locked populations of white sturgeon known to occur in western North America, the Kootenai River white sturgeon was listed as endangered in 1994. The sturgeon occur in Idaho, Montana and British Columbia, Canada, and are restricted to approximately 167.7 river miles of the Kootenai River from Kootenai Falls below Libby Dam downstream through Kootenay Lake to Corra Linn

Dam at the outflow from Kootenay Lake in British Columbia. Approximately 45 percent of the species' range is located within British Columbia.

Dam and flood control operations, water quality degradation and loss of habitat threaten the fish's population.