Sturgeon not rated endangered
Ruling spares state’s fishing, spearing
Lake sturgeon fishing and spearing seasons as well as other management programs in Wisconsin and other states will continue under a decision announced Monday by federal officials.
After a years-long review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined the lake sturgeon does not require listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The Service found although lake sturgeon declined over the last century in parts of its range due to overexploitation and loss of access to spawning habitat, efforts such as fish stocking have contributed to the conservation and resiliency of the species.
“Today’s announcement shows the power of collaborative conservation and the impact it can have for species like the lake sturgeon,” Will Meeks, USFWS midwest regional director, said in a statement. “The fact that we’re seeing more and more lake sturgeon populations spawning in their historical habitat is a clear sign that restoration efforts are progressing. This success is credited to many partners including states, tribes, local organizations and others across the country coming together to conserve this species.”
Monday’s announcement stemmed from a 2018 petition from the Center for Biological Diversity requesting the USFWS list the lake sturgeon range-wide or as several distinct population segments under protections of the Endangered Species Act.
The next year the agency concluded the petition presented “substantial scientific or commercial information indicating listing may be warranted” and initiated a status review process. It had a deadline of June 30 to release its findings.
Lake sturgeon are one of the oldest fish species in North America and are native to at least two dozen states in the central, southern and
eastern U.S. according to the USFWS. In Wisconsin they are found in Lakes Michigan and Superior as well as the Wisconsin, Chippewa and Flambeau, Wolf and Fox rivers, among others.
The population of lake sturgeon in the Winnebago System (lakes Winnebago, Butte des Morts, Poygan and Winneconne and the Fox and Wolf rivers) numbers about 35,000 adult fish and is among the highest in North America.
Eggs from the Winnebago System have been used to jump-start sturgeon populations in other parts of Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee River, as well as other states, including Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee.
The Winnebago System also hosts a sturgeon spearing season in February.
Wisconsin sturgeon advocates were concerned an ESA listing could prohibit the annual spearing season and other management actions.
“I’m very excited and relieved to hear this,” said Don Mielke of Menasha, a sturgeon spearer, open water angler and leader of the volunteer Sturgeon Guard in the Winnebago System. “I’m ecstatic to continue the passion.”
Concerns over a possible listing led a bipartisan group of Wisconsin elected officials in December to write a letter urging the USFWS to exempt sturgeon in the Badger State from any potential regulatory change.
And in January Rep. Mike Gallagher introduced the SPEAR Act, a measure intended to prevent Wisconsin’s sturgeon from being included in a potential ESA listing.
Five hundred people filled the Stockbridge
High School gymnasium Jan. 22 in a show of support for keeping the state’s sturgeon off the ESA list.
Ron Bruch, retired Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fisheries director and onetime head of its sturgeon program, said Monday’s announcement was “good news.”
“It shows that all the work that’s gone into lake sturgeon management is working,” Bruch said. “Across the range, lake sturgeon are better off now than they were 100 years ago. The data shows it and the public really supports all the programs in place that are working to help sturgeon.”
When reached Monday, a Wisconsin DNR spokesperson said the agency was “reviewing the decision and are unable to comment at this time.”
The Center for Biological Diversity, the group that petitioned for the review, disagreed with the USFWS’ findings.
“This decision is bad for lake sturgeon and anglers alike because overall the species has suffered drastic declines,” Jeff Miller, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “While some populations are well managed, adult fish numbers are at a fraction of their historical levels despite decades of restoration efforts. The Fish and Wildlife Service decided not to protect distinct regional populations despite scientific findings that each watershed may contain genetically unique fish. Endangered Species Act protection would bring a comprehensive recovery plan and ongoing funding to restore these iconic fish across their former range.”
Under the ESA, a species may be determined to be endangered or threatened because of any of the following five factors: the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; disease or predation; the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.
The Service said it used the “best available science” in its review. The work included a species status assessment report for the lake sturgeon, which included details of the taxonomy, life history, ecology, current status and projected future status for the lake sturgeon.
The agency found lake sturgeon didn’t warrant listing range-wide or in part of its range.
Further, although the petition included nine potential distinct population segments (Lake Superior, western Lake Michigan, Red River, Rainy Lake/Rainy River/Lake of the Woods, upper Mississippi River, Missouri River, Ohio River, Arkansas-White River, and the lower
Mississippi River) the USFWS found each population is not discrete “because it is not markedly separated from other populations of lake sturgeon, with evidence of migration and movement between each petitioned DPS and a population of lake sturgeon outside of the petitioned DPS.”
The USFWS review found stocking of captive-reared lake sturgeon as the “most widespread, ongoing conservation action” for the species.
Stocking programs have led to increases in adult lake sturgeon and spawning behaviors, according to the Service.
And although populations are not at historical levels, these successful programs have “both bolstered existing populations and returned lake sturgeon to areas where they had disappeared, such as the Red River of the North, the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, the Middle Mississippi River, and the Coosa River,” the agency said.
Other successful lake sturgeon conservation measures include restoring habitat connectivity through dam removal, fish passages and habitat restoration, according to the Service.
In it summary, the USFWS said it expected lake sturgeon populations that are currently trending upward to continue to trend upward in the future, improving resiliency and redundancy for the species.
“After assessing the best available information, the lake sturgeon is not in danger of extinction or likely to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all of its range or in any significant portion of its range,” the Service wrote. “Therefore, we find that listing the lake sturgeon as an endangered species or threatened species under the Act is not warranted.”