Troyteck's List: Kootenai River Sites

• • Facts about the Kootenai.
• The   Kootenai River has its origins in British Columbia's Kootenay National   Park in Canada. From there it flows 485 miles into northwest Montana and   through the towns of Libby and Troy. From there it flows into northern   Idaho, then back into Canada and Kootenay Lake.
• The major   tributaries of the Kootenai River are the St. Mary, Bull Elk, Fisher,   Yaak, Moyie, and Slocan Rivers
• The Kootenai River supports   populations of westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, Kokanee salmon,   and rainbow trout, among other species. White sturgeon also inhabit   the river below Kootenai Falls. Libby Dam, completed in 1972, altered   the river by controlling both the timing and volume of flow, as well   as nutrient and sediment loading, affecting the   aquatic ecosystem above and below the dam.

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• he river consists of Class I whitewater from the Libby Dam downstream to the Montana-Idaho border and is a well known area for whitewater rafting and other forms of recreation.^[4]
• In the 1970s, it was proposed that the Kootenay River be diverted into the Columbia River (the two rivers are separated by a distance of no more than one mile in the Rocky Mountain Trench in southeastern British Columbia). This would allow for the generation of increased hydroelectric power. The proposal was strongly opposed by both environmentalists as well as local residents. The economy of southeastern British Columbia is strongly dependent on tourism, with the Columbia River, including Columbia Lake and Windermere Lake, being very popular for summer swimming and boating activities. Diversion of the glacier-fed Kootenay River would have resulted in the Columbia River becoming much deeper and colder, flooding lake-side residences and damaging tourism. As a result, this proposed river diversion was never undertaken.