Lake Koocanusa

Lake Koocanusa (KUU-KAN-U-S-A) is a reservoir in British Columbia (Canada) and Montana (United States) formed by the damming of the Kootenai River by the Libby Dam in 1972. The Dam was formally dedicated by President Gerald Ford on August 24, 1975.[1]

The Koocanusa Bridge over Lake Koocanusa from the east bank.
Lake Koocanusa
Location of Lake Koocanusa in Montana, USA.
Location of Lake Koocanusa in Montana, USA.
Lake Koocanusa
Location of Lake Koocanusa in Montana, USA.
Location of Lake Koocanusa in Montana, USA.
Lake Koocanusa
LocationMontana / British Columbia
Coordinates48°23′N 115°19′W
Lake typereservoir
Primary inflowsKootenay River (Canada)
Primary outflowsKootenai River (USA)
Basin countriesUnited States, Canada
Surface elevation2,459 feet (750 m)

The lake is formed north of the dam, reaching 48 miles (77 km) to the Canada–United States border and 42 miles (68 km) further into British Columbia. The lake holds 13% of the water in the Columbia River system. The town of Rexford was moved, as well as the Great Northern Railway line. The town of Waldo, British Columbia is now covered by the lake. What was once a barrier to river travel, Jennings Canyon is now inundated by the lake.[2] The Elk River joins the Kootenay River in the northern part of Lake Koocanusa, within Canadian territory.

Lake Koocanusa was named in a contest won by Alice Beers of Rexford, Montana.[1] The name is made from the first three letters of the Kootenay (alternately, Kootenai) River, Canada, and USA. Some confusion around the pronunciation of the lake exists[3] and in an effort to acknowledge truth and reconciliation, locals have been urging people to pronounce the USA portion of the name the same way that you would pronounce the abbreviation.

Lake Koocanusa was built as a joint project of the U.S. and Canada. It is 26 km (16 mi) from Libby, Montana, also on the Kootenai River, from which the dam gets its name. Libby Dam has a Visitors Center and can be accessed by the Lake Koocanusa Scenic Byway which begins in the nearby town of Libby, Montana.

The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail follows Highway 37 along the east side of the lake before crossing over the Lake Koocanusa Bridge and climbing up Webb Mountain.

Selenium contamination

According to a March 8, 2021 article in The Narwhal, concerns have been raised about selenium pollution leaching from Teck Resources' Elk Valley open pit coal mines' waste rock, which is upstream from the lake system.[4] A September 24, 2020 Montana Department of Environmental Quality presentation to the Board of Environmental Review Meeting, reported that the 95% of the selenium coming into Lake Koocanusa originates from the Elk River—"which has been contaminated by current and historic coal mining in the Elk Valley." The average selenium levels in Lake Koocanusa were 1 part per billion. Montana has established new standards for selenium—0.8 parts per billion.[4][5] Because of the high bioaccumulation of selenium in fish, excessive levels of selenium in an aquatic ecosystem has implications for human health.[6][7] In the spring of 2020, Teck Resources, had "reported a dramatic decline in adult westslope cutthroat trout in Elk Valley waterways closest to its mines".[4] Since 2015, British Columbia and Montana have agreed to adopt aligned standards for selenium levels by 2020.[8] Montana's has been in force since the fall of 2020, but British Columbia has not aligned their standards yet.[8]

Fish

The lake supports a wide variety of fish species. Below is a table detailing the various fish species which may be encountered on the lake.[9]

Species Family Native to MT
Brook Trout Trout Introduced
Bull Trout Trout Native
Burbot Codfish Native
Kokanee Trout Introduced
Largemouth Bass Sunfish Introduced
Largescale Sucker Sucker Native
Longnose Dace Minnow Native
Longnose Sucker Sucker Native
Mountain Whitefish Trout Native
Northern Pike Pike Introduced
Northern Pike Minnow Minnow Native
Peamouth Minnow Native
Pumpkinseed Sunfish Introduced
Rainbow Trout Trout Introduced
Redside Shiner Minnow Native
Westslope Cutthroat Trout Trout Native
Yellow Perch Perch Introduced

References
  1. "Remarks at Dedication Ceremonies for the Libby Dam, Libby, Montana. | the American Presidency Project".
  2. "Libby Dam - the Dams | Balance of Power". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
  3. "Koocanusa". Sesquiotica. January 19, 2012.
  4. Cruickshank, Ainslie (March 8, 2021). "B.C. under pressure as U.S. EPA releases selenium pollution standard for water near Elk Valley coal mines". The Narwhal. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  5. Kelly, Myla; Sullivan, Lauren (September 24, 2020). Establishing Selenium Standards for Lake Koocanusa and Kootenai River that Protect Aquatic Life (PDF). Montana Department of Environmental Quality Board of Environmental Review Meeting (Report). Water Quality Standards & Modeling Section. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  6. Hamilton, Steven J. (2004-06-29). "Review of selenium toxicity in the aquatic food chain". Science of the Total Environment. 326 (1): 1–31. Bibcode:2004ScTEn.326....1H. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.01.019. ISSN 0048-9697. PMID 15142762.
  7. Gribble, Matthew; Karimi, Roxanne; Feingold, Beth; Nyland, Jennifer; O'Hara, Todd; Gladyshev, Michail; Chen, Celia (October 8, 2015). "Mercury, selenium and fish oils in marine food webs and implications for human health". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 1 (96): 43–59. doi:10.1017/S0025315415001356. PMC 4720108. PMID 26834292 – via Cambridge.
  8. Cruickshank, Ainslie (October 8, 2020). "B.C. stalling on new rules for selenium pollution from coal mines, environmental groups say". The Narwhal. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. "FISHMT :: Waterbody Details". myfwp.mt.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-17.


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