Sturgeon planted in Lake Rufus Woods

Some 1,400 white sturgeon fish were released into Lake Rufus Woods May 17. Raised in a state Fish and Wildlife hatchery for 10 months for the reservoir behind Wells Dam, the project was paid for by Douglas County PUD as a part of its federal licensing requirements. Colville Tribal Fish and Wildlife has been working with the PUD for a couple years to capture wild sturgeon larvae from Lake Roosevelt for the project, which was so successful they had young fish left over, a tribal press release said. "The Rufus Woods experiment is something that our Resident Fish Division has wanted to pursue for some time, but funds had not been available," said Jason McLellan, fisheries biologist for CTFW. "This just happened to be a great opportunity." - CTFW photo