newer news

PRESENTATION AT THE SAUGATUC K-DOUGLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 28, 2015 AT 11:00 A.M. AT THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE IN DOUGLAS, MICHIGAN

On August 28, 2015, the Saugatuck Douglas Historic Society will present  a program on Lake Michigan fisheries and the Kalamazoo River Lake Sturgeon  - a historical perspective.  The guest speaker will be Jay Wesley, The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Basin Coordinator, Fish Division. He will be assisted by Al Weener and Ronald Clark, President and Executive Director respectively of Kalamazoo River Lake Sturgeon for Tomorrow, a not for profit organization that partners with The DNR, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Gun Lake Indian Tribe to restore this ancient, sacred and revered unique species to the Kalamazoo River where it once abounded.

               We will be announcing the release of 12 more baby sturgeon into the Kalamazoo about August 1, though it is possible that they will be released as early as July 28.  Jay Wesley will discuss plans for increasing the egg production of the Kalamazoo sturgeon who are returning to the Kalamazoo each year to spawn. This will be done through increased habitat away from the current spawning area in front of the Allegan Dam and the use of hormone injections to induce egg laying by captured females who currently do not seem to be laying their eggs. 

Each female returns only every 4 to7 years or so and does not begin to spawn she is 24 to 26 years old. As one can see, this project is long term, but maybe not so long when one considers that the sturgeon has been in the river over 10,000 years.  In the past 125 years, only man, through pollution dam building and overfishing, has been responsible for the docile sturgeon’s demise, and only man can restore them.    

I have sent pictures of eggs, a sturgeon caught by the Sewers Brothers Fisheries in Saugatuck and a current picture of sturgeon capturing in the Kalamazoo over the past 2  years.  Jay Wesley will have a video presentation.        

2015 the start of another year with the fish

The DNRWill be out at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River sampling and netting soon.  The sturgeon stage their progression up the river as the water warms. In the past they have been near coral gables as there a deep spot in the channel in front of the restaurant. All this happens every year since the ice age. What is new this year is the dedicated biologists will hopefully be able to extract eggs from mature fish in a pen in the river and,without harming them, acquire viable eggs in a fashion new to our area. Details will follow soon as the project ramps up. We are very excited in that the hatchery may have many fish this summer and through this new strategy.

don't forget - join us at this Saturday's Sturgeon Release event!

Michigan Radio's "Environmental Report" program did a feature today on this Saturday's Sturgeon Release event. Read and listen here:
http://michiganradio.org/post/sturgeon-release-party-planned-kalamazoo-river
And here's the info on Saturday's Celebration:
SUCCESSFUL SEASON – STURGEON RELEASE EVENT CELEBRATION PLANNED FOR SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6

For more information, contact: ronaldc1@juno.com

On Saturday, September 6, the local Sturgeon For Tomorrow/Save Michigan’s Sturgeon project (kazoosturgeon.org) based in New Richmond, will celebrate another successful season of rearing sturgeon with a day of events at the New Richmond Bridge Park.

The event will take place from 10AM until 2PM at the park. Activities include live music from Dixieland-style band “Porkchop”, operation of the New Richmond swing bridge, tours of the Michigan DNR hatching and rearing facility, various speakers, free snacks and refreshments, a pig roast, information booths and, the main event, the release of the young sturgeon into the Kalamazoo River (at noon). There will be a tribal drum circle at both the opening and closing of the event by John Bush and the Three Fires.

The Sturgeon for Tomorrow project is an ongoing effort to help repopulate the lake sturgeon population in west Michigan. Sturgeon live in Lake Michigan, entering the Kalamazoo River mouth yearly, only to spawn and then return to the lake. The sturgeon then take 15 to 20 years to reach breeding maturity. As the number of sturgeon has decreased over the years, this project was founded to assist in restoring a healthy population.  More information about the program can be found at the organization’s site at www.kazoosturgeon.org.

The release event celebration is free and open to the public. Everyone is invited to come and learn more and participate in this fun family-friendly event.

STILL GROWIN'!

Our young charges are progressing very well!

They are growing about an inch a week and that is the best growth rate of any sturgeon rearing effort we know of...

Here's a picture from today:

By the time of their release in September, they should be of optimum size to thrive and mature  in their native environment.

(Watch this blog for information about our release ceremony and event coming in September!)

NEW PICTURE

The sturgeon kids continue to grow...

Remember, you can always visit our web site at www.kazoosturgeon.org for details, more information about our habitat restoration program, and to learn more about our prehistoric pal, the Lake Sturgeon! 

gettin' bigger...

Here's a couple new pictures to give you an idea how the young sturgeon are progressing - gettin' bigger all the time!

Remember, you can always visit our web site at www.kazoosturgeon.org for details, more information about our habitat restoration program, and to learn more about our prehistoric pal, the Lake Sturgeon! 

the DNR, Gun Lake Tribe and FWS continue efforts to get sturgeon eggs. There are some eggs and tiny sturgeon in the hatchery in New Richmond. John Bauman from FWS will give an informative tour when he is attending the fish and larvae.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!

As the egg gathering and hunt for fry continues, we're seeing the first activity in the hatching and rearing facility trailer.

And today with the aid of a microscope we get a really good "up-close" look at some sturgeon eggs!

Remember, you can always visit our web site at www.kazoosturgeon.org for details, more information about our habitat restoration program, and to learn more about our prehistoric pal, the Lake Sturgeon! 

SUCCESS - WE'RE UNDERWAY!

Well, some success anyway.

Our egg and fry gathering efforts continue. We have been finding some eggs that are now in place in the hatchery/rearing facility trailer.

A number of the eggs we've gathered so far are viable and, better yet, some are beginning to hatch!

We thought you might like a peek at what's going on at the moment...

(the photo on the right shows one of the fry still with its yolk sac)

 

Remember, you can always visit our web site at www.kazoosturgeon.org for details, more information about our habitat restoration program, and to learn more about our prehistoric pal, the Lake Sturgeon!