Wetlands Endangered Species

White Sturgeon Recovery an International Effort
by Stephen Duke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Did you know that white sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in North America, and that one, small land-locked white sturgeon population living in the Kootenai River in the United States and Canada is an endangered species? While white sturgeon have been known to reach nearly 1,500 pounds, individuals in landlocked populations tend to be much smaller. The largest reported from the Kootenai River population was nearly 90 years old and weighed 350 pounds when captured in 1995.

Kootenai River white sturgeon became isolated from other populations in the Columbia River Basin by a natural barrier at Bonnington Falls downstream of Kootenay Lake in British Columbia during the last glacial age approximately 10,000 years ago. This population, one of 18 landlocked populations of white sturgeon found in the Pacific Northwest, migrates in a 168-mile section of the Kootenai River between Kootenai Falls in Montana and Kootenay Lake. Adults are often found in Kootenay Lake and may migrate upstream up to 71 miles into the Kootenai River to reproduce.

Human activities have changed the natural flows of the Kootenai River, altering the white sturgeon's spawning, egg incubation, nursery, and rearing habitats, and reducing overall productivity of the river and Kootenay Lake. Operation of Libby Dam in regulating flows on the Kootenai River since 1974 is considered to be a primary reason for the population's continued decline. Additionally, the loss of side-channel slough and wetland habitats due to diking and bank stabilization projects eliminated important juvenile white sturgeon rearing areas.

Cooperative conservation efforts between the United States and Canada began in 1989 focusing on restoring spring white sturgeon flows and associated rearing habitats along the Kootenai River. The sturgeon population was listed as endangered throughout its range in both countries in 1994. A binational recovery team, formed in 1995, completed a final recovery plan, which the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved in late 1999.

The Kootenai River is located in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan's Intermountain West Joint Venture area, and the Kootenai River National Wildlife Refuge lies adjacent to a stretch of the Kootenai River where white sturgeon migrate and reproduce. The refuge is currently working with the Joint Venture, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and Natural Resources Conservation Service to restore wetland and slough habitats off refuge lands.

One project located near the Idaho and Canada border is attempting to restore wetland and flood plain functions on nearly 1,000 acres. One option under consideration is to reconnect this property with the Kootenai River, which should allow Kootenai River white sturgeon access to side-channel rearing habitats. This area is also immediately upstream from the Creston Wildlife Area in British Columbia, an area important to nesting and migrating waterfowl. The refuge is attempting to work with Canadian officials to ensure that management opportunities on both sides of the border help meet the habitat goals of the Intermountain West Joint Venture.

For more information, contact Stephen Duke, Recovery Team Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Snake River Basin Office, 1387 South Vinnell Way, Room 368, Boise, Idaho 83709, (208) 378-5345, stephen_duke@fws.gov. In Canada, contact Jay Hammond, Fisheries Section Head, British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Suite 401 - 333 Victoria Street, Nelson, British Columbia V1L 4K3, (250) 354-6343, jay.hammond@gems2.gov.bc.ca.