The Kootenai River Network (KRN) is an alliance of diverse citizen's groups, individuals, businesses, tribal and government agencies in Montana, Idaho and British Columbia.  Formed in 1991 because of citizens' concerns about deteriorating water quality and aquatic resources in the Kootenai River Basin, the KRN is a cooperative, international non-profit organization.  The KRN fosters partnerships with private and public interests dedicated to the protection of water resources in the Kootenai River Watershed.  It has been successful in improving communication among agencies and local groups, supporting best proactive water resource management, and coordinating habitat enhancement/restoration efforts on both sides of the border.  The KRN focus is basin-wide and it is dedicated to solving priority environmental problems and bridging jursidictional obstacles across borders.

Since 2002, the KRN has partnered with the Bonneville Power Administration to establish a successful "Focus Watershed Coordination Program."  The program has enhanced the KRN's effectiveness in habitat restoration efforts by providing resources for education and public outreach activities to complement mitigation activities outlined in the Kootenai Subbasin Plan.  The program is comprised of two half-time postions; one focusing on Montana and Idaho, and the other on British Columbia.  The "Focus Watershed Coordination Program" has allowed the KRN to carry out hands-on education and outreach programs over a large area of the Kootenai River Watershed.  It has fostered broad community involvement and facilitated greater inter-agency cooperation in habitat restoration efforts to offset negative impact on native fisheries.  These efforts are in direct support of the Bonneville Power Administration's desire to facilitate information transfer, communication and networking among key players within the Kootenai Subbasin.

Presently, the KRN is involved in trans-boundary basin-wide efforts to reduce, eliminate, or mitigate negative impacts on fish and wildlife.  Throughout the basin, potential mitigation projects to enhance native populations have been compiled and restoration efforts are being implemented.  The Kootenai River Network's Focus Watershed Coordination Program provides coordination assistance and outreach education for on-the-ground habitat improvement efforts that alleviate factors limiting native species restoration.  These cooperative, coordinated activities enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of mitigation and habitat restoration efforts by building and maintaining connectivity between local communities, tribal, state and federal agencies, and trans-boundary partnerships.  In a neutral arena, stakeholders have an opportunity to work together to find solutions to problems in an on-going, proactive forum for the community and enables agencies to work together in natural resource planning.  This approach also accommodates improved knowledge and stewardship of resources through community outreach education related to watershed management and focal and target species conservation and restoration.  These projects are being completed using grassroots watershed workgroups comprised of landowners, agencies, sportsmen's groups, and local, state and federal government coalitions.  These cooperative programs lead to improved resource management practices and the restoration of water quality and aquatic resources in the Kootenai Basin.  Current basin-wide outreach and education activities include transboundary meetings, the KRN website, distribution of quarterly newsletters, design and placement of interpretive signage, an annual symposium, a multi-media presentation on the Kootenai River Watershed, GIS maps, a Kootenai River Network brochure, stream trailer demonstrations and trunks for watershed education to public school children and adults, compilation of a basin-wide information package, fact sheet distribution, and participation in local special events such as fairs and field tours of habitat mitgation restoration sites.  KRN works extensively to build partnerships in associated communities (i.e. Joseph Creek BC, Community Action Team, Friends of Grave Creek, Columbia Basin Trust and the Montana Watershed Coordination Council).

The Kootenai River Subbasin Management Plan identifies the vision for the Kootenai River Subbasin as the establishment and maintenance of a healthy ecosystem characterized by healthy, harvestable fish and wildlife populations, normative and/or natural physical and biological conditions, and sustainable living communities.  The KRN operates under the belief that education coupled with cooperative management of programs leads to improved resource management practices and restoration of water quality and aquatic resources in the Kootenai River Basin.  It seeks to empower local citizens to collaborate in natural resource management in the basin by involving local individuals and groups, as well as two states (Idaho and Montana), one province (British Columbia, Canada), two countries and affected tribal nations.