It is tragic to see North America’s largest freshwater fish standing on the verge of extinction. Although numerous attempts are being made to save the toothless beast, but all in vain. Now officials hope to deflect extinction by throwing more water down a river, giving them the opportunity to spawn in the wild.
The Kootenai River white sturgeon, which is known for its large head and armor-like scales can grow up to 19 feet long and weigh over 1,000 pounds. The Kootenai that passes through Montana, northern Idaho and southern British Columbia has an isolated population of the fish living in its waters. In the past 35 years, they could not spawn successfully, resulting in decreasing their number to less than 500.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service all the efforts made over the past two years to save the endangered species has been unsuccessful. The attempts made to overcome the extinction of the white sturgeon were to change the way Libby Dam operated. The hydroelectric facility in Montana run by the Army Corps of Engineers that serves power markets in the Pacific Northwest has stopped periodic flooding of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, since it was set up in 1974. The end put on the periodic flooding prevented sturgeon to move upriver and spawn. It’s said that nearly 10,000 Kootenai sturgeon were spotted before the construction of the dam.
The federal government aged to change the operation of the facility to imitate historic water flows, but even this effort did not seem to help. Now the fisheries officials and the Corps are planning to spill more water over the dam next spring. It effort could be the only attempt to save this beautiful creature from extinction. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for this green attempt to work well.
Via: TheMiamiHerald