About Lake Koocanusa

Lake Koocanusa

The 198 KM long Lake Koocanusa reservoir is held back by a 422 foot tall Libby Dam, located 16 miles upstream from the town of Libby . The dam provides flood protection and hydroelectric power. The lake offers a multitude of recreational opportunities including boating, fishing, lakeshore camping, and picnicking.

Lake Koocanusa was completed in 1972 as a joint project between the United States and Canada in an effort to provide flood protection and to generate hydroelectric power. The Kootenai River fluctuated wildly in the spring causing flooding in Montana , Idaho and British Columbia . Lake Koocanusa received its name in a contest to name the Libby Dam reservoir. Alice Beers, from Rexford , Montana , combined the first three letters from KOOtenai River , and the first three letters of CANada and USA .

Lake Koocanusa
Lake Koocanusa is home to a variety of fish species. Sport fish include rainbow trout, west slope cutthroat, brook trout, kokanee salmon (blueback), burbot (ling), whitefish and Kamloops (a strain of rainbow trout). The lake has a maximum depth of 370 feet. A valid fishing license is required to fish any waters.

Kootenai River
This blue-ribbon fishing stream has trout and many other species of fish including white sturgeon which can live to be 80 years old and over 6 feet in length. The river's water flows from Canada into Lake Koocanusa , its waters held back in a 90-mile reservoir by the Libby Dam 20 northeast of Libby. The  town of Libby is nestled in the Libby Valley along the shores of the Kootenai River . Past Kootenai Falls , the river flows past the town of Troy , and then heads back into Canada , reentering the United States in Washington , where it flows into the Columbia River and on to the Pacific Ocean . This river is popular for fishing, river floating, rafting, and even summer inner-tubing. Water levels can fluctuate during the summer depending on the volume released by the US Army Corps of Engineers from Libby Dam.