Libby Dam plans to increase water flows

The Daily Inter Lake

Libby Dam soon will start releasing water to improve spawning conditions for the Kootenai River's endangered white sturgeon.

Flows on the river will be high through most of June as part of an effort to get sturgeon to migrate upstream from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, into suitable spawning habitat in a cobble- and gravel-bottomed stretch of river called the braided reach.

For years, sturgeon did not travel that far upriver, unsuccessfully spawning in sediments.

Last year, with increased June flows, a radio-tagged fish traveled the farthest distance upriver that has been recorded in years, said Brian Marotz, a biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Releases from Libby Dam are currently at about 13,000 cubic feet per second.

But within a week, Marotz said, the dam will ramp up to full powerhouse flows of 26,000 cfs for seven days, then to 20,000 cfs for seven days, then 15,000 for five days. At the end of the month, flows will drop to stable summer releases of between 6,000 and 9,000 cfs.

The movements of tagged sturgeon will be monitored.