Libby Dam to temporarily increase flow for sturgeon

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday the second of two week-long flow increases at Libby Dam to improve conditions for the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon downstream in Idaho.

Beginning 6 a.m. Friday, June 2, discharge from Libby Dam will be increased from 18,000 cubic feet per second to about 23,200 cubic feet per second for about one week, according to a news release.

The additional flow could possibly increase river stage at Bonners Ferry to 1763 feet or higher, the news release states. Because releases from Libby Dam for the sturgeon project are limited to keep water levels below the flood stage of 1764 feet, the Corps “will monitor stage and manage elevation below 1764 feet to the extent possible.”

The augmentation operation is part of an ongoing effort to enhance spawning and migration conditions for sturgeon in the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry. Increased flows are intended to provide river conditions that may increase sturgeon migration to the reach of river upstream of Bonners Ferry in habitat thought to be conducive to successful spawning, egg hatching and survival of larval sturgeon.

Though the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho’s conservation aquaculture program has steadily increased the number of young sturgeon in the river since 1992, federal, state and tribal partners collaborate to build habitat upstream of Bonners Ferry to allow adult sturgeon to successfully reproduce on their own.