Kootenai Tribe celebrates Twin Rivers Hatchery opening

BONNERS FERRY — After 25 years in the aquaculture profession, the Kootenai Tribe celebrated another milestone, inviting the community and guests to the opening of the Twin Rivers Hatchery at the confluence of the Moyie and Kootenai rivers Oct. 9. Idaho’s U.S. Senators, Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, joined Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Chairman Gary Aitken Jr., Boundary County Commissioners, Bonneville Power Administration Deputy Administrator Greg Delwiche, Sen. Shawn Keough, and a multitude of representatives from tribes, agencies and groups in Idaho, Montana, Canada and beyond for the opening celebration of the Twin Rivers Hatchery.

Boundary County residents and onlookers rubbed elbows with dignitaries and politicians, representatives from U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Fish and Game, Canadian and Montana wildlife administrators and employees and members of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho as they got their first look at the completed state-of-the-art hatchery facility. Attendees included representatives from Congressman Labrador’s office, a Lincoln County Commissioner, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and KVRI Board Chairs and members, including Bonners Ferry’s mayor Dave Anderson and Boundary County Commissioner Dan Dinning, who spoke at the event.

The Upper Columbia United Tribes, Spokane Tribe, Colville Tribe and Coeur d’ Alene tribal staff and council members were represented, as well as Army Corps of Engineers staff from Libby Dam and the Seattle and Walla Walla districts. The British Columbian Ministry, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, U of I and UC Davis also sent representatives.Design engineers from TetraTech and staff from construction firms BF Builders, Goodfellow Bros. and their subcontractors, who built the outstanding facility were on hand to enjoy the celebration. Tribal Hatchery Managers and Tribal staff, who will operate the new facility, were on hand to share information about the hatchery.

Aitken Jr. welcomed the guests, who filled the adult sturgeon holding and spawning room of the big box retail store-sized building to capacity.“We have so many people to thank,” Aitken Jr. said. “We can’t express gratitude enough. We couldn’t be here without the help.”

Aitken Jr. spoke of the covenant with the Creator, describing how the Kootenai River valley has taken care of the Kootenai people for thousands of years, and that restoration of the valley from ridgetop to ridgetop is driven by the tribe’s charge to honor, guard and celebrate this creation. The new hatchery facility will raise both the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon and burbot, which have been functionally extirpated from the river system, Aitken Jr. said.

“We have partnerships where once there was opposition,” he said. “Twenty years ago or less I was swimming here. I never dreamed we could have a facility like this, the first of it’s kind.”After Tribal Councilwoman Velma Bahe gave the blessing, the Sukni Singers gathered around a large drum to sing and drum a grand entry song. Aitken Jr. then introduced Sen. Crapo for the keynote speech, saying Crapo had been instrumental in the work and in hearing the Kootenai people’s message.

“The Tribe has been engaged for years building partnerships and consensus,” Crapo said. “I feel honored to be brought in as a close friend.”Crapo described how the consensus-building efforts in the area can help preserve, develop and strengthen the local economy, protecting the environment while providing resource-based jobs. He congratulated the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative for it’s natural resource work.

“I’ve used the Tribe and KVRI as an example all over the country of consensus building,” he said.Senator and former governor Jim Risch followed Crapo. He had been told by Crapo that the junior senator is never allowed to speak longer than the senior one, he joked.

Risch spoke about Idaho’s roadless rule, saying it was the only state that had been able to get a rule in place and that new lawsuits over the issue always exclude Idaho now.“People of good will sat down together,” he said. “We’ve resolved to get along.”

“We’ve come a long way,” Aitken Jr. said, “But I have mixed feelings about celebrating. As Ktunaxa, we are taught to be humble. We are just getting started with the burbot, and it feels too early to celebrate, but I am pleased and excited. We have plenty to celebrate.”Bonneville Power Administration’s deputy administrator Greg Delwiche joined Aitken Jr. for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

“I was head of (BPA’s) Fish and Wildlife when this was just a dream,” he said. “Now that dream has come true.”BPA funded the project as a part of mandated mitigation for ecosystem effects caused by dams on the Columbia River drainage. The agency uses part of the fees it charges for power to drive recovery programs like the one used for Chinook salmon on lower stretches of the river system. Recovery efforts saw record returns of the fish for the last two years, Delwiche reported proudly, eclipsing the entire returned fish numbers in the 90’s in twenty days this July.

“A lot has been said about community involvement,” said Boundary County Commissioner Dinning, “Where we were, where we are, and where we are going to go.” Growing up in Boundary County, Dinning said he has watched the tribe’s relationship with the community change, and the respect of the community grow with the tribe. “The Tribe uses it’s sovereignty for the benefit of the entire community,” he said.

Ed Schriever from Idaho Fish and Game presented a plaque of appreciation to the Tribe. “I’m looking forward to the time when people can once again interact with the species in the environment,” he said.The celebration ended with drumming, ribbon cutting by Aitken, Jr. and Delwiche and informative hatchery tours. The Adult Holding and Spawning room was cleared out for the event, with plywood over the floor grates, but brand-new tanks filled the sturgeon rearing and burbot rooms, with staff and video screens on hand in each area to showcase the facility’s mission.

The first generation of fish will begin life in the hatchery in February when teams gather eggs from spawning burbot. Sturgeon rearing will begin with the spawning season in spring of 2015.“I’m in awe today to see all the faces of people who have been a part of this. We are so thankful for everyone’s contributions,” said Tribal Fish and Wildlife Director Sue Ireland. “This is a milestone, but we still have many steps to take. Based on all the collaboration and collective effort that has gone into the implementation of this program so far, the future looks bright for these culturally and socially important fish species.”

A community open house will allow the public another chance to tour the hatchery facility on Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to noon.