It’s an issue that refuses to go away and it’s an issue that will probably not be settled anytime soon. But maybe that’s the way Mother Nature means it to be and there’s nothing that man can do about it.

On Wednesday evening about 30 people showed up at the Jaffray Community Hall for an update by officials from BC Hydro and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the operations of the Libby Dam this summer and how it will affect the levels of the Koocanusa Reservoir.

These updates are held annually, and on Wednesday there was anger in the air fuelled by the woefully inaccurate prediction of the Corps of Engineers this time last year that the Koocanusa Reservoir would fill to within six to eight feet of full pool when it got no closer than 16 feet from the top, leaving marinas at the top end of the lake with a sea of sand in front of them instead of water as well as fishermen and campers fuming at the low water levels.

So you can easily imagine how the aforementioned groups feel about this year’s Corps’ prediction that the reservoir may not get any higher than 30 to 40 feet below the brim which would be a far bigger disaster than last year.

And if all of this wasn’t enough, there’s also the issue of the “sturgeon spill.” What’s that, you say. I’ll be as simple as I can. Prior to the Libby Dam being completed in the late 1970’s, the highly endangered Kootenay River White Sturgeon used to spawn in a special spot just below the Kootenay River Falls a little downstream from the dam. But for reasons not entirely clear, the ancient Ice Age fish no longer spawn at the critical spot putting their future in peril. In recent years in order to counteract this and encourage the giant fish to return to their former spawning bed, a special spill of water is released from the Libby dam in June which plays a major role in the reservoir not filling, much to the chagrin of Canadian recreationalists upstream.

Several at the meeting Wednesday argued there is no evidence whatsoever that the so-called “sturgeon spill” has encouraged any of the giant fish, which can weigh more than 500 lbs., to resume spawning and the whole program is a waste of time and water. And even a representative of the federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service admitted there’s been no real evidence of sturgeon resuming their natural spawning habits for the past 30 years and the species is being maintained by artificial hatchery means on both sides of the border.

It was also pointed out by one angry Canadian at the meeting that this year’s sturgeon spill is going ahead despite the fact that the snowpack this year is one of the lowest on record and the Corps appears to be manipulating snowpack figures on the American side of the border to make it appear there’s more snow than there really is.

The distrust at the meeting was palpable and it’s a shame, because both sides offer solid arguments, and whether they like it or not, they share the same river and it’s in their mutual interest to come up with a solution that will work for both.

Personally, I don’t blame the Americans for trying to save a species that’s a wonder of Nature and that’s lived in the Kootenay River for thousands of years before industrial man messed the river up with his dams. And like it or not, our politicians in Ottawa and Victoria signed the Columbia River Treaty which allowed the Libby dam to be built.

The treaty is up for renewal in 2024 if either Canada or the U.S. gives the requisite 10 years’ notice. Perhaps Canada should do this and negotiate some new provisions to ensure a more consistent operation of the Libby Dam to protect interests on this side of the border, including our fish and hopefully the giant sturgeon themselves.

It would be a sad day indeed if two countries as advanced as Canada and the U.S. can’t come up with an agreement to protect a magnificent species that’s been around for eons longer than either country and their destructive dams.