I keep hearing about recipes for sturgeon but Idaho's sturgeon are completely protected, are they not?

Right, all Idaho sturgeon populations are strictly protected. If you are enjoying a sturgeon dish, the fish had better have come from Oregon or Washington where keeping sturgeon is still legal, or from a licensed commercial fish hatchery. You can fish for sturgeon in parts of Idaho but the law requires that you do not take them out of the water at all and that you let them go immediately, unharmed. Catch and release sturgeon fishing does have a large and enthusiastic following in Idaho. No sturgeon fishing is allowed in the Kootenai River of northern Idaho.