Lower Kootenai River Model Watershed

"Although it may take many years, a science based approach to identify, implement, and monitor restoration actions is the only way to progress toward the goal of a fully functioning watershed.  The Kootenai Tribe is committed to working with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation and the community to begin the long process of healing the watersheds within the Kootenai drainage."

Originating in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, the Kootenai River flows through northwestern Montana and the Idaho panhandle before it reenters Canada and empties into Kootenay Lake.  Historically, the lower Kootenai River supported self-sustaining populations of white sturgeon, burbot, and kokanee -- in addition to native cutthroat, red-band, and bull trout.  However, due largely to habitat degradation and hydrological modifications, these species are now in decline, and many have been listed or petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

With several Kootenai River fish stocks in danger of extinction, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho set out to develop a program that would recover native fish by rehabilitating and protecting watershed ecosystems in Idaho’s lower Kootenai River valley.  From the outset, the Tribe worked with the local community to develop a scientific and accountable restoration approach that would direct limited resources towards the most effective restoration methods and strategies. 

• In 2001, BEF awarded the Kootenai Tribe an initial grant of $30,400 to complete a comprehensive watershed-biological assessment and prioritize restoration actions for Trout Creek, a lower Kootenai River tributary.  Based on the findings of the completed assessment, the Tribe began working with local landowners to restore degraded stream habitat and riparian areas. 

• With growing public support and increasing success in Trout Creek, the Tribe approached BEF and requested funding to expand restoration efforts into several additional lower Kootenai River tributaries.  By 2003, BEF had awarded 3 new grants to the Kootenai Tribe (totaling $37,500) to jumpstart restoration and monitoring efforts across multiple lower Kootenai River watersheds.

• As the scale and scope of the Tribe’s restoration efforts expanded, BEF and the Tribe collaborated to develop a comprehensive plan to establish long-term monitoring programs and implement systematic and scientific restoration actions in the lower Kootenai valley over a 10-year period.  BEF and the Tribe sought to build a science-based program that would measure restoration results and ensure that future restoration actions and investments produced the desired results. 

• By 2003, BEF and the Tribe had formalized a 10-year restoration and monitoring plan for lower Kootenai River tributary restoration.  This plan a) identified specific and measurable restoration objectives; b) laid out the 10-year monitoring schedules necessary to track progress towards set objectives; and c) identified the long-term restoration actions that were judged necessary to restore native fish populations.

• BEF and the Tribe signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to officially establish a 10-year Model Watershed restoration partnership.  BEF committed to provide additional financial support ($250,000), long-term oversight, and the services of an independent scientific review team over the full 10-year period.  

• By 2005, the Kootenai River Model Watershed project had already demonstrated substantial progress: the Tribe had worked with landowners to exclude livestock from streamside areas, replanted native riparian vegetation, restored instream habitat, and established off-stream stock watering sites.  The Tribe continues to rigorously monitor restoration results in order to demonstrate accountability to stakeholders and improve ongoing restoration strategies based on quantified outcomes.

• By 2005, BEF’s investment in the Kootenai River Model Watershed Program was already demonstrating results. In Trout Creek, for example, grazing management efforts had rapidly improved degraded stream sections.  The stream channel in Trout Creek had become narrower and deeper, and the area suitable for salmon and trout spawning and rearing had increased.  Over the 10-year duration of the lower Kootenai Model Watershed Program, BEF expects to document substantial improvements in habitat, water quality, and native fish populations.