Upper St. Louis River Namé (Lake Sturgeon) Restoration Project

USLRN

May 2026 - November 2037

Fisheries for the Fond du Lac Band are important in Ojibway mythology and they have spiritual significance. The Upper St. Louis River (USLR) historically supported Lake Sturgeon spawning migrations from river resident Lake Sturgeon from the lower reaches of the river and Lake Superior. In the early 1900s dam construction on the St. Louis River (SLR) blocked spawning migrations to the USLR from the SLR and Lake Superior. The loss of access to historic spawning grounds combined with overfishing, industrial pollution, and habitat degradation extirpated the population in the USLR and SLR. USLR Lake Sturgeon stocking began in 1998 with egg stocking from the Menominee River (WI) and was later changed to fingerling stocking form Lake Superior sources (Sturgeon River, MI). The main objective of the USLR restoration project is to rehabilitate and maintain self-sustaining populations. To evaluate the status and inform future rehabilitation efforts for the USLR Lake Sturgeon population with respect to this objective it is important to understand the movement patterns, habitat usage and spawning locations Lake Sturgeon in the USLR.

• Determine habitat use of Lake Sturgeon in the USLR: timing, frequency and magnitude of movements.
• Identify Lake Sturgeon spawning locations in the USLR.

• A better understanding of movement patterns and extent of habitat used by Lake Sturgeon in the USLR to help determine appropriate population size and rehabilitation goals.

• Joseph Amundson (United States Fish and Wildlife Service - Ashland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office) - joseph_amundson@fws.gov
• Eric Torvinen (Fond Du Lac Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa)
• Matthew Weske (Fond Du Lac Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa)

• United States Fish and Wildlife Service
• Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative