Libby Dam, located on the Kootenai River in Montana approximately 220 miles from the confluence of the Columbia River, is a major upriver storage dam for the FCRPS. The dam was completed in 1973 and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The white sturgeon fish population in the Kootenai River below Libby Dam was first listed as endangered in 1994. The decline in the population has been attributed primarily to the changes in river flows caused by the existence of the dam and its operation, although floodplain development, contaminant runoff, over-harvest, and agricultural activities have also contributed.

Because the sturgeon is a freshwater fish, recovery plans and biological opinions are the responsibility of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For information on the white sturgeon and white sturgeon recovery efforts, see www.fws.gov/endangered/features/sturgeon/

In 1999, the USFWS prepared a recovery plan. It issued a BiOp in 2000. In 2003, the Center for Biological Diversity challenged the BiOp and USFWS's issuance of designated critical habitat. The federal agencies agreed to reinitiate consultation in 2003, and had the BiOp portion of the case temporarily stayed. Plaintiffs won their challenge to designated critical habitat, and in 2006 the USFWS issued an interim final rule on the challenged critical habitat designation.

USFWS issued a new BiOp in February 2006, finding that the proposed operations of Libby Dam caused jeopardy for white sturgeon. The Reasonable and Prudent Alternative included a suite of performance-based alternatives designed to achieve habitat changes that would assist the sturgeon with spawning and rearing below Libby Dam.

In 2007, CBD filed an amended complaint challenging the Libby BiOp, asking for re-consultation and finalization of the critical habitat designation. For more information and related documents, go to the Libby BiOp court documents page.