Community members tour the Sturgeon Passage Project on the Menominee River

MENOMINEE, MI. (NBC 26) — Across Wisconsin and Michigan officials are doing what they can to help save lake sturgeon. Valerie Juarez “Lake sturgeon are a state listed threatened species in Michigan and historically their numbers were much higher. Today they are about one percent of what they used to be,” said Jennifer Johnson, a fishery biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.Before the construction of the Menominee Dam and several other dams on the Menominee River, lake sturgeon were able to migrate upstream from Green Bay to spawn.All these years later their access is still cut short. Valerie Juarez Johnson said the ‘Sturgeon Passage Project’ is meant to help save the sturgeon. They begin by capturing the lake sturgeon they do have.Learn more about the project below: Sturgeon Passage Project on the Menominee River from River Alliance of Wisconsin on Vimeo.”We transfer them up two dams to have them access a lot more spawning habitat and also their babies have a lot more rearing habitat,” Johnson said.By doing so, they’re helping sturgeon reach their spawning grounds.”Right now we’re inside the Menominee dam and we’re standing inside what is called the sorting tank and this is where the hopper spills over…
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