Tribe proposes new hatchery
After the remarkable success of the Kootenai Tribal Hatchery, built in the early 1990s, the tribe is proposing a second, larger hatchery facility at their Twin Rivers Canyon Resort, situated at the confluence of the Moyie and Kootenai Rivers.
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| Hatchery-raised Kootenai white sturgeon. |
As proposed, the main building, a 32,574 square-foot hatchery facility, and accessory buildings, will be built on a natural bench above flood elevation, both to protect the facility and to provide gravity drainage into the river and rearing ponds to be built to raise fish, especially Kootenai River White Sturgeon and ling cod. The sturgeon is recognized as endangered, the burbot trending that way.
The recovery plan the tribe proposes isn't theirs alone.
When they established the existing hatchery, located at the Kootenai Mission, the tribe's effort were stymied by resistance from many agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, throwing numerous regulatory roadblocks in their attempt to assist in the restoration of native fish.
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| The burbot, or ling cod |
One of the developments to arise as a result of the contention was the recognition that a local voice could matter, and make a difference.
Disparate local voices stopped screaming at each other and started listening to one another, and realized that despite many differences, the similarities were greater. Apart, we were all small voices. easily dismissed.
The result was a local powerhouse, the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiarive, a local collaboration that's been recognized in the halls of Congress as the ideal of how local groups interact with state and federal agencies. The KVRI Burbot subcommittee was formed and worked for more than two years to develop a burbot conservation strategy. The new hatchery facility is an integral partof that strategy.
The new hatchery facility, if approved by county planning and zoning, will make the tribe's contribution even more vital.
"The proposed Twin Rivers Hatchery is a key addition to the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho's ongoing native fish conservation aquaculture program," tribal biologist Sue Ireland wrote in their application. "Two species, burbot (ling cod) and Kootenai River white sturgeon, will be reared at Twin Rivers. The purpose of the Tribe's sturgeon program is to prevent the extinction of the Kootenai white sturgeon, preserve the existing gene pool, and continue rebuilding a healthy age class structure for this declining population. The purpose of the burbot program is to reintroduce burbot into the lower Kootenai River and begin rebuilding the population using genetically similar stock from British Columbia."
The tribe purchased Twin Rivers Canyon Resort, a popular camping and RV park, in 2007. The hatchery, if approved, will not only help preserve native fish species, but the park as well, providing an additional attraction.
An open-air visitor's kiosk near the base of Twin Rivers Road is part of the proposal.
The application is available for review during office hours of the planning and zoning department, Room 16 at the Boundary County Courthouse, 6452 Kootenai Street, Bonners Ferry, or by calling (208) 267-7212, and public participation is encouraged.
Written comment, which must be received by 5 p.m. Wednesday, November 7, to be considered, can be mailed to Planning and Zoning, P.O. Box 419, Bonners Ferry 83805, faxed to (208) 267-1205 or emailed to planning@boundarycountyid.org.