Bringing back an old fish to a young river: lake sturgeon in the Niagara

Credit: USFWS

Last week we heard from Bethany Holbrook about successfully stocking lake sturgeon in the St. Lawrence River in New York, part of a collaborative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) to restore lake sturgeon populations.

Fish stocking is one of many tools biologists use to bring back fish populations  This week, Fisheries Biologist and Communication Coordinator Catherine Gatenby highlights how monitoring a naturally reproducing population in the Niagra River can help recover this ancient species.

Lake sturgeon are descendants of one of the oldest families of fishes on the planet!  They first appeared about 100,000 years ago, just as dinosaurs began to disappear.  Once abundant in the Hudson Bay, the St. Lawrence River, the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes basins, including the young Niagara River (“only” 5, 500 – 12,500 years old!), lake sturgeon almost went extinct due to over-fishing and loss of suitable spawning habitat.

Lake sturgeon have many primitive characteristics, such as armor-like plates, or “scutes”, along their backs and sides. Credit:USFWS

For several years the Service and NYDEC have monitored lake sturgeon and their habitat in the Niagara River, where  promising results suggest that a goal of self-sustaining populations is within reach.

“We are seeing recovery of some wild populations that use the Niagara River. We saw the first measurable runs of reproducing lake sturgeon in the lower Niagara River this past summer than have been seen in a long time”, said Dr. Dimitry Gorsky of the Service’s Lower Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office.  “Indeed, the population in the lower Niagara River is larger than biologists expected, with a large number of younger fish (less than 30 years of age) preparing for reproduction, indicating this population could become self-sustaining if conditions remain suitable.”

Dr. Gorsky, the Service and NYDEC continue to monitor wild lake sturgeon movements and populations using tagged fish. Credit:USFWS

The NYDEC observed a similar aged population suggesting reproduction in the upper Niagara River as well.

This summer, Lower Great Lakes biologists spotted several lake sturgeon in the shallows of the shorelines of the lower Niagara River Gorge during the spawning season, suggesting that spawning might be occurring there, too!

We’ll continue to keep a close watch on these growing wild populations and their habitat to see what conditions are contributing to their success and use this information to promote self-sustaining lake sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes watershed.  These findings give us hope for the recovery of lake sturgeon in the Niagara and other river systems.

Visit the Lower Greats Lake Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office website and Facebook page  and the Service’s Midwest Region’s website for more information on Great Lakes restoration and outreach activities.

Get wild in your backyard

I’m Bethany Holbrook, and I work at our New York Field Office. You’ll hear from me every week! Stay tuned for tales from the great state of New York.

Are you someone who enjoys a glimpse of wildlife running in nearby woods and pastures, or even your own backyard?

If so, there are ways you can improve habitat for species such as deer, other small mammals, young forest birds, amphibians and even plants.

Our agency partners with private landowners to make changes that restore important fish and wildlife habitat through a cost-share program called Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. One landowner took our program to the next level and used the knowledge he gained to make even more habitat changes on his own.

Female Northern harrier flying over Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge in New York’s Finger Lakes Region. Credit: Doug Racine/USFWS

The result? A landscape that boasts new species, a higher volume of wildlife, and a new appreciation for and greater attraction to his land. I visited his 325-acre site to see these changes and their benefits for wildlife just a few years after construction.

Here’s what he recommends if you, too, are interested in making your property more suitable for wildlife: “Study the landscape to learn how animals will use it and to determine what is best.”

Let it grow. The landowner knew that deer prefer covered corridors that they can travel through, as opposed to open areas. Deer were creating their own trails between the woodlot and the open field, so he allowed a 60-foot-wide corridor of natural vegetation through the field to go un-mowed.

”There is no doubt that deer are spending more time in the field as these areas develop,” he says. “They love hiding in the tall growth, slipping out to feed on all the clover and taking a break in the wet areas in darker woods.”

Make some space. The landowner turned to us and the Ruffed Grouse Society for help with an aspen clonal cut in January. This involves cutting older aspen trees in a colony of trees to allow new aspen trees to grow, along with other young forest plants that will attract birds like the American woodcock and grouse.

Six months later, tall grasses fill the area, and aspen trees have popped up like tall twigs in the ground. To make the new habitat even more attractive, the landowner stacked piles of wood and brush to create bird nesting habitat.

Aspen regeneration cut in Canastota, N.Y., after four months of growth. The aspen responded particularly well because the area is open and receives a lot of sunlight. Credit: Andy Weik, Ruffed Grouse Society

Add a bit of water. We also added six vernal pools, which are small shallow ponds that fill up during the wet season and usually dry out periodically throughout the year. Following construction, the landowner said he noticed frogs and salamanders in the pools, and occasionally ducks in the pools not covered by trees.

Vernal pool. Credit: USFWS

Another vernal pool. Credit: USFWS

The landowner was genuinely amazed with the transformation of his land. He was noticing calls, sounds and nests of different birds, and markings of animals traveling through the woods.

Your conservation strategy can be as simple as purchasing wood duck boxes and placing them on trees, or as difficult as constructing your own vernal pool. By doing a little research and consulting with wildlife agencies, you too can transform your property into a landscape that provides suitable habitat to a range of species.

Here are some simple alterations you can make:

• Grow plants/crops/trees that you know will attract a certain species. For example, turkeys like acorns, beechnuts, and hickory nuts, so it would be wise to plant oak, beech or hickory trees.
• Cut down trees that compete with desirable trees. The desirable trees will grow better if they don’t have to compete with other trees for resources.
• Plant hemlock trees. Deer will bed under the branches.
• Plant a hedgerow of native berries. You will attract wildlife and gain privacy!
• Add large sunning rocks, logs, etc. to the edge of a pond or vernal pool.
• Collect twigs and branches. Make a large pile in the woods for nesting and protection.
• Cut down trees to create openings in the forest. Some species prefer grasses and plants that thrive in sunlight, providing feeding and nesting opportunities. Forest opening also attract insects for wildlife to eat.

Joining forces in the Charles River to bring back shad fishery

July 18, 2013: Yesterday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state of Massachusetts, and the Charles River Watershed Association came together to release young American shad fish into the Charles River. On hand from the Service were Northeast Regional Director Wendi Weber, Deputy Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries Bill Archambault and Northeast Supervisory Fish Biologist Joe McKeon of the  Eastern New England Fishery Resources Complex.

Wendi Weber (center) joins partners Bob Zimmerman and Mary Griffin in releasing shad into the Charles River. Copyright: Aram Boghosian for the Boston Globe

Watch video of event!

“Go forth and propagate!”  proclaimed Mary Griffin, commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game, as quoted in a Boston Globe article about the stocking event. Griffin and Bob Zimmerman of the Charles River Watershed Association stood in the water shoulder-to-shoulder with Wendi Weber, connected by a large hose they grasped in their hands. The hose delivered baby shad from a North Atlleboro National Fish Hatchery truck to their new home in the Charles River.

Once abundant in rivers such as the Charles, American shad numbers have decreased in the last century due to dams, pollution and overfishing. Improvements in water quality, fish passage and fishing regulations make restoring shad populations possible in the Charles.

The restoration project is a long-term collaborative effort between Massachusetts and the Service’s Eastern New England Fishery Complex. Goals are to return a viable population of shad to the river and create a local sport fishery.

“This project is special because the Charles is such an important river to the people in Boston,” said Weber. “We are pleased to work with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Charles River Watershed Association and others to enhance American shad populations and improve habitat for other migratory fish.”

Read  more from the Boston Globe story about the stocking or a press release.

Adult shad are collected from the Merrimack River and tank spawned in hatcheries for stocking the Charles and other rivers. Credit:USFWS

Spawning pool for mature American shad at North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery. Fertilized eggs flow through a drain to a control box (upper right) where they are collected. Credit: Catherine J. Hibbard/USFWS

Eggs are placed in cylinders hung around tanks. When the shad larvae hatch in about 4 days, they swim into the tanks through chutes at the top of the cylinders. Credit: Catherine J. Hibbard/USFWS

Shad larvae are marked with oxytetracycline and released after a few days, for a turnaround time of about a week from egg to release. These young shad were reared at Nashua National Fish Hatchery. Credit: USFWS