FROM THE RESORTER, MAY 4, 2000

by L. Scott Swanson

Patrols are in place on the Black River to protect spawning sturgeon. Sturgeon started coming into the river April 22 and several were well up the river and spawning as of last Friday.

Several organizations and individuals are working together to watch the fish and protect them from poachers. Sturgeon For Tomorrow is a citizen and sportsmen's group dedicated to protecting the sturgeon and enhancing the sturgeon population. They're working with the Department of Natural Resources, National Guard, Viet Nam veterans and individuals. Working out of several base stations along the river, the patrol is providing 24-hour surveillance of the sturgeon.

Sturgeon were once plentiful in area lakes, but now numbers have diminished to the point where sturgeon are considered a threatened species. Sturgeon are a late-maturing, slow-growing fish that can live 50 to 60 years and weigh more than 200 pounds. Male sturgeon reach sexual readiness at 15 to 20 years and then spawn only every other year. Females mature at 20 to 25 years and then spawn on average about every four years.

When spawning in the river, the three to six-foot long sturgeon are impressive to watch, but are also vulnerable to poaching. Reducing, or eliminating, poaching is a vital element in efforts to increase the sturgeon population. The patrol groups have cellular phones and upon witnessing suspicious activity call the DNR Report All Poaching (RAP) hotline. The information is then forwarded to conservation officers patrolling the river.

A reward of up to $1,000 has been offered by Sturgeon For Tomorrow and the RAP program for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone illegally taking sturgeon

In addition to protecting the sturgeon, patrollers are also counting how many sturgeon are coming up the river. Some of the patrollers who were out Friday afternoon said that after watching the fish for a while you get so you can tell individual fish by their markings.

As the information recorded by the patrollers over the years accumulates, it will give biologists data to determine whether or not the sturgeon population is increasing.

Brenda Archambo, President of Sturgeon For Tomorrow, has said that people involved in the patrol realize that restoring the sturgeon population is a long-term project. But she notes that the sturgeon and sturgeon fishing are part of this area's heritage and it's important to see them preserved, not just for this generation, but for future generations.

RIGHT: Sturgeon have entered the Black River for their annual spawning run under the watchful eye of the Sturgeon For Tomorrow group, Department of Natural Resources officers and many other volunteers. The purpose of the 24-hour-a-day patrols is to monitor the fish and reduce poaching so that the fish may spawn successfully and increase sturgeon numbers in Black Lake.