PROJECT

DATE

April 18, 2011Sue IrelandKootenai Tribe of Idaho

Kootenai Valley Resource Initiativeand KVRI Burbot Subcommittee

Kootenai River Burbot Briefing

BURBOT (Lota lota)Freshwater Cod a.k.a. ling, eelpout, lawyer, loche, methy

Circumpolar distribution (cold and temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere)

Spawns in winter under the ice

Voracious predator and night feeder

Large, long lived species

Photo by Ernest Keeley

IDFG documents population decline –

By 2003 the Lower Kootenai population is estimated to be <50 fish

Idaho Dept of Fish and Game

Threats to the Burbot Population

Low Population Size Winter Flow Management Winter Water Temperatures Reduced Productivity Habitat Changes

The burbot was proposed for emergency listing by conservation groups in February 2000

Excerpt from Letter to USFWS from Kootenai Tribal Council,

November 2001“…. the Tribe

proposes, to develop, with the Service and additional committed stakeholders, an integrated and innovative approach to recovery of lower Kootenai River burbot.”

Photo by Ernest Keeley

February 2002 - KVRI agrees to form a Burbot Subcommittee to develop a conservation strategy

Historical interviews of community members provided important input

Burbot Restoration

Goal: to restore a viable and self- sustaining harvestable burbot population in the Lower Kootenai River

MOU signed by 16 agencies and entities in 2005

Burbot Conservation Strategy

Habitat Restoration Conservation

Aquaculture Alternative Hydro

Operations Plan Monitoring and

Evaluation Education and

Outreach

Master Plan completed in July 2009

Provides analysis of the factors limiting ecosystem function

Presents specific restoration strategies for each river reach designed to address those limiting factors

http://www.kootenai.org/fish_restoration.htm

l

Thanks to KVRI and all our partners for continued support of the burbot

restoration program!