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The Kalamazoo River
Sturgeon Habitat Restoration Project
in New Richmond Michigan

PROJECT INFO AND PHOTOS


WATCH OUR VIDEO ON YOUTUBE OF A
BABY LAKE STURGEON CLICK HERE
.
OUR CURRENT GOALS:
- Supporting the stream-side rearing facility at the Allegan County Park in New Richmond
- Supporting research such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant to the Gun Lake Tribe. This grant has compiled information on the Kalamazoo River juvenile population.
- Applying for grants for river bank restoration and habitat enhancement.
- Educating and informing the community about the existence of this threatened species in the Kalamazoo River through event booths and community presentations.
- Forming partnerships in this work to promote a self-sustaining sturgeon population in the Kalamazoo River. 


 local class visits our hatching/rearing facility === CLICK HERE

   

A BIT ABOUT OUR
LAKE STURGEON

Lake Sturgeon (acipenser fulvescens) are amazing creatures dating back to prehistoric times. Sturgeon have a skeleton made partly of bone and partly of cartilage. Their slender bodies are covered with rows of bony plates. Beneath the projecting snout, there is a small, toothless mouth with thick sucking lips. There are four barbels (whiskers) in front of the mouth that are used to direct food. The body is well protected by its plates. A single dorsal fin rises from it's back.
In early summer, lake sturgeons migrate toward the shores of freshwater lakes for spawning purposes.

They seek out pebbly habitats that have no mud in which to breed and spawn. (Evans 1994).

Spawning usually takes place at a depth of 5.4 to 6.0 meters. The females lay a vast number of eggs, anywhere from 2 to 3 million in one season, depending on their size and age.

After spawning, the eggs are left to develop on their own.
The parents will then return to the lake or river where they spend most of their time.(Rodgers 1990)

 
 

 

HOME

MEET THE STURGEON

PHOTOS/PROJECT INFO

BECOME A MEMBER

NEWS - BLOG

LINKS & RESOURCES

OUR ONLINE SHOP