Legislators want fish off endangered list - ask for conservation plan that will exclude burbot

Spokesman-Review

9/20/02

Boise, Idaho - Idaho's senators, governor and 1st District congressman are urging federal agencies to work with Boundary County toward a conservation agreement without listing the burbot under the Endangered Species Act.

The burbot is a mottled, greenish or brown bottom-dwelling fish that may grow longer than 3 feet. It lives in the Kootenai River and is proposed for listing under the powerful federal act.

Listing the fish would trigger environmental restrictions in and near the fish's habitat.

Sens. Mike Crapo, Larry Craig, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and Rep. Butch Otter signed a letter to numerous federal agencies, urging the government to consider a draft conservation plan compiled by tribal, county and municipal authorities.

Already in Boundary County, endangered species include grizzly bears, caribou, sturgeon, bull trout, Canadian lynx and gray wolf. The wolverine also may soon be listed in the county.