Corps will increase Kootenai River flows for endangered sturgeon
The Kootenai River, U.S. Highway 2 and the railroad tracks weave their way through the mountains west of Libby. The view is from the old Highway 2 trail.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water managers, along with federal, tribal and state fishery biologists determined spring run-off conditions in the Kootenai River and its tributaries warrant starting the required flow augmentation at Libby Dam for endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon downstream in Idaho and British Columbia.
The flow augmentation operation entails increasing outflows to provide river conditions to potentially increase sturgeon spawning success in the lower Kootenai River.
Outflows will increase May 14-21, as local Kootenai River tributaries downstream of the dam are forecasted to peak. Discharge from the dam will increase to full powerhouse capacity, about 25,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) for about 18 days.
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