How a Montana dam almost killed off Idaho’s 1,000-pound “living dinosaurs”

The Kootenai Tribe’s Sturgeon Rescue at Twin Rivers

The Kootenai River white sturgeon swam Idaho waters for 10,000 years as "living dinosaurs" that grew up to 1,000 pounds. Then came Libby Dam in 1975.

The dam cut spring flows by half and hiked winter flows by 300 percent, forcing these ancient fish to lay eggs in sand where they died.

By 1994, only about 1,000 adults were left, with numbers dropping 4 percent each year. But the Kootenai Tribe stepped in.

Since 1990, they’ve raised and freed over 280,000 sturgeon, saving fish they see as spiritual kin.

Their $15 million Twin Rivers Hatchery now stands in Bonners Ferry as a monument to what might be the most successful fish rescue in American history.

These 10,000-Year-Old Fish Almost Died Out After Dam Building

White sturgeon swam the Kootenai River for over 10,000 years, growing up to 1,000 pounds each. The Kootenai Tribe saw these old fish as spirit messengers and built a deep bond with them.

These "living dinosaurs" did well for hundreds of years until modern building put them at risk. By the late 1900s, sturgeon numbers dropped by 4% each year, with only about 1,000 adult fish left in the river.

The tribe watched with worry as these ancient fish started to vanish.

Libby Dam Messed Up Natural River Patterns

Libby Dam’s finish in 1975 totally changed the Kootenai River.

Builders made the dam to stop floods and make power, but it changed water flows that sturgeon needed to make babies. Spring high waters dropped by more than half.

Winter flows jumped up nearly 300% higher than normal.

The last time sturgeon had babies on their own was in 1974, right before the dam started working fully. These changes hurt the old fish that had lived with certain water patterns for thousands of years.

Sturgeon Eggs Couldn’t Live In The New River Bottom

The dam forced sturgeon to lay eggs in all the wrong spots.

Before the dam, high spring waters pushed fish to lay eggs over rocky, pebbly river bottoms where eggs could stick and grow safely.

After the dam, fish laid eggs over sandy areas where their eggs simply smothered in the fine sand. Baby sturgeon stopped showing up.

Fish experts found almost no young sturgeon born after 1975, leaving only old fish with no new ones coming up behind them.

The Tribe Started A Bold Rescue Plan

The Kootenai Tribe took action without waiting for the government.

In 1990, they started their Fish Growing Program, four years before the fish even got official danger status. They tried new sturgeon breeding ways when most fish farms only raised fish for sport.

The tribe changed their buildings to save a type of fish rather than just supply fishermen. Their program broke new ground, showing how fish farms could stop animals from dying out.

Fish Breeding Needed Creative Fixes

Tribal fish experts carefully caught wild adult sturgeon during mating season to collect eggs and sperm. They made special plans to track family lines and stop inbreeding among the few parent fish.

The team built fake spawning spots that looked like natural places as much as possible.

They raised baby sturgeon in tanks with exact water temps, flow speeds, and feeding times to get them ready for river release.

Early Fish Releases Showed Good Results

The first groups of farm-raised sturgeon went into the river in the early 1990s.

About 65% of the young fish lived through their first year in the wild, a good rate for a saving program. After that first period, survival rates went up to around 90% for later years.

The farm fish fit well into river life despite growing up in tanks.

Within a few years, fish experts found most sturgeon in certain age groups came from the tribe’s program.

Federal Protection Helped The Tribe’s Work

White sturgeon got official danger status in 1994, bringing national focus to their problems. The listing got more money and research help from federal groups.

Even with new partners joining the work, the Kootenai Tribe kept leading the saving program they had started. Their cultural ties to the fish matched perfectly with saving goals.

The tribe’s old knowledge mixed with science made a strong team for saving the fish.

Thousands Of Baby Sturgeon Now Swim The River

More than 280,000 farm-raised sturgeon have gone into the Kootenai River since the mid-1990s. This big effort stopped the complete loss of the fish.

Fish experts kept making their methods better through research, tracking, and watching the fish they put in the river. The program became a model that other fish saving works around the world now follow.

A Top-Notch Fish Nursery Opened Its Doors

The $15 million Twin Rivers Fish Farm started working in 2014, making the tribe’s saving work much bigger. The building stands among the first in the world to grow burbot, another local fish facing death in the river.

The new farm has high-tech water cleaning, temp control, and special breeding areas. This big money spent shows the tribe’s long-term promise to bring back their river’s native fish.

Careful Breeding Keeps Ancient Fish Genes

The program keeps the gene mix of more than 100 adult sturgeon used as parent fish. Tribal fish experts track every fish’s family tree to make sure babies don’t mate with close family when they grow up.

This careful record-keeping saves the wild gene pool that grew over thousands of years.

Their methods ensure the fish group stays healthy long-term rather than creating a gene bottleneck that could hurt future fish.

Ancient Fish Shape Both Canoes And Cultural Identity

The program fulfills the tribe’s sacred responsibility to protect these fish they consider messengers between worlds.

Traditional Kootenai canoes were shaped after sturgeon, showing the deep historical connection between people and fish.

The tribe now leads international conversations about aquaculture conservation, hosting visitors from around the world who come to learn their methods.

Their work beautifully blends traditional ecological knowledge with cutting-edge science, proving that cultural values and conservation can work hand in hand.

Visiting Bonners Ferry, Idaho

You can visit the Kootenai Tribe’s conservation hatchery in Moyie Springs, about 8 miles from Bonners Ferry. They offer free tours on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 1:30pm, or call (208) 267-7082 for special arrangements.

The hatchery has released over 280,000 white sturgeon since the 1990s to save them from extinction after Libby Dam destroyed their habitat.

You’ll see educational displays about the Ktunaxa Nation’s cultural connection to these ancient fish they consider spiritual messengers.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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