White sturgeon：Kootenai River white sturgeon

SAVING THE KOOTENAI RIVER WHITE STURGEON

Since the time of the dinosaurs, about 70 million years ago, sturgeons have remained essentially unchanged — large, impressive fish that can live to be 100. But the longevity of the sturgeon in the Kootenai River is waning: It hasnt reproduced in real numbers in at least 30 years due to habitat change caused by Libby Dam, which shut its gates in 1975. The dam has reduced spring peak flows by more than 50 percent and increased winter flows by nearly 300 percent — a regime thats forcing fish to spawn over areas with a sandy bottom, where their eggs become encased in sand and drift downriver to die. Without better management, the species could be extinct in 20 years.

In 1999, five years after the sturgeon was designated as an endangered species, the Center filed suit to get the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to declare critical habitat for the fish. The Service came bac...