Kootenai River Restoration Program Comes to Bonners Ferry

The Kootenai Tribe is leading a large-scale, ecosystem-based restoration program on the Kootenai River to provide habitat conditions that support the migration and spawning of the endangered white sturgeon, burbot and other native trout species whose populations have decreased.

The Kootenai River Restoration Habitat Program, which has been underway for some years now, is the first major river reconstruction effort since the Libby Dam opened in 1975. Although the dam controls river levels, prevents floods and creates power, it has inevitably changed the way the river flows and has altered its ecosystem.

The Kootenai River white sturgeon and burbot are keystone species in the Kootenai River and are of immeasurable cultural value to the Kootenai Tribe. Data dating back to the 1980s showed that something needed to be done in particular to stave the endangered Kootenai sturgeon from its dwindling numbers. The sturgeon have not reproduced successfully in the wild for over four decades. The Tribe started a conservation aquaculture program for sturgeon in 1990 to stave off extinction while measures could be taken to help restore fish numbers and the habitat that they depend upon.

Native Kootenai River burbot are almost extinct. “In early 2000, estimates indicated that less than 50 burbot remained in the lower river,” said Sue Ireland, the Fish and Wildlife Program Director for the Kootenai Tribe. A Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative (KVRI) Burbot Conservation Strategy was completed in 2005, and a multilateral conservation agreement was signed to ensure that burbot population decline would be addressed. Implementation of conservation aquaculture and habitat improvements was included in the agreement. Habitat restoration will help support conditions for the sturgeon, burbot, kokanee and other trout native in the river.

The Kootenai Tribe has proposed and implemented numerous restoration projects since 2011, Ireland said. “We evaluated each stretch of river and looked at what factors were limiting the fish populations and their habitats (We) had to understand how the river works and see how the Libby Dam has changed how the river acts naturally The Tribe compiled a master plan that includes restoration strategies to address the limiting factors and help the river.”

The restoration strategies in the master plan can be combined into projects that will restore the ecosystem altered by the dam. Every year, one to two of the projects are implemented or continued, Ireland explained. One of the earliest projects in 2011 was to help restore habitat conditions for native fish and the “food web” on which the fish depend. Evidence of increased aquatic species from that project is showing.

“(We) have Kokanee coming into the channel, and we’re seeing a positive response from some of the native trout species that we’re looking to help,” she said.

Last February, the Tribe’s new Twin Rivers burbot hatchery became operational and burbot, a freshwater cod, produced in the facility will be released into the Kootenai River and Kootenay Lake this month. Along with aquaculture and habitat restoration, the Tribe and Idaho Fish and Game have cooperatively implemented a nutrient restoration program over the past decade to replenish nitrogen and phosphorous to the river. That has stimulated algae growth which in turns feeds the bugs, which then provides food for the fish, she explained.

Currently, the work being done in town is the Bonners Ferry Islands habitat restoration project. It involves the construction of two islands and three pools. The islands will create floodplain surfaces and will enhance riparian vegetation and the food web. The pools will serve as resting and feeding areas for the Kootenai sturgeon, burbot and other native aquatic species. “Next year will be a continuation of the Bonners Ferry Islands project slightly upstream. (Crews) will excavate a pool and construct two pool forming structures, grade river banks and plant vegetation,” Ireland said.

The heavy equipment visible from the Bonners Ferry Bridge are long-reach backhoes to excavate the river to create the pools and trucks to move the river bed material. The excavated soil is then moved by dozers to build the islands on existing gravel bars.

Construction crews have made temporary access roads which will eventually be eliminated, leaving the pools and the islands. The crews, which started working in August, are finishing the project work for 2015 by November in time for the Army Corps of Engineers to release water from Libby Dam for flood control and winter power production.

The Kootenai Tribe received its primary funding for the restoration work from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) which markets the power generated by the Libby Dam. By law, the Northwest Power Act of 1984, the BPA must set aside funding for fish and wildlife mitigation projects such as the one underway in Bonners Ferry. Additionally, there are requirements by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service which mandate that the Army Corps of Engineers release a flow of water to help the sturgeon spawn in the spring.

The Libby Dam is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers which monitors water levels for flood control and power production. The Tribe works in partnership with them in planning when it is best to implement the projects. The dry summer this year was inadvertently helpful to the work because water levels were low.

“We work with the Army Corps of Engineers so that there are no surprises with the water levels,” Ireland said. “We know when to do the work and when to be out. We also understand that power and flood control are important to the local community and region, and we’re working to create sustainable habitat that can be maintained within those constraints,” Ireland said.

None of the work will impact the power supply generated by the dam. Each project is meticulously studied by the Kootenai Tribe and designed to support the river’s ecosystem without having a negative impact on the needs of the community.

The Tribe’s work goes beyond the environmental aspect and is part of their cultural duty to the Kootenai River. The Tribe has a spiritual dedication to the river that perhaps spans centuries.

“The covenant that the Tribe has with the Creator is to take care of the land and in turn the land will take care of us — it is very much a part of our culture,” said Gary Aitken, Jr., Tribal Chairman of the Kootenai Tribe. “Also, by helping the river to provide the habitat that our native fish need, we’re investing in the river, the fish, and our local economy.”

For more information about the Bonners Ferry Islands habitat restoration project visit restoringthekootenai.org or Kootenai.org.

#local #lifecommunity