Tribe releases sturgeon into Kootenai River

FRIDAY - The Boundary Soil and Conservation District and Kootenai Tribe joined forces to show the community of Boundary County what they accomplish during the year, as well as the assets to the community. The tour began with a presentation from the Kootenai Tribe at the Memorial Hall. The presentation explained how the Tribe has dedicated their time to restoring the sturgeon species to our local waterway.

The tour's next destination was the Search and Rescue boat launch. This is where they had the opportunity to join in the release of 1,000 juvenile sturgeon into the Kootenai River. Fish are released into the river in fall and spring by transporting the fish by tanker truck or boats that are loaded and then unloaded from tanks and livewells with dip nets. During the tour, they had the option to release with nets or by hand. The goal of the hatchery is to prevent extinction of the species; until it can restore itself. The average sturgeon life span is 100 years but it's reproduction maturity age for a female is 30 years and 25 years for male. According to the Kootenai Tribal Hatchery, in 1977, the estimated number of wild sturgeon in the Kootenai: 8,500; estimated in 2007: 1,000. The amount of fish reared and released from the hatchery between 1992-2010: over 170,000.

The tour then headed to Copeland Bridge for a presentation on the Kootenai River Dike System by Bob Olson and Dave Wattenbarger. After a fun filled morning, the tour was treated to lunch at the Houck Farms followed by presentations about GPS Demonstration, Farm to Market Grains LLC, Wildfire and Fuels reduction by United States Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Farm Bureau and the Boundary Soil Conservation District came together to make this tour possible for the public as an education tool.