The sturgeon spawning season on the Black River in Cheboygan County concluded earlier this month, and those involved with protecting the fish and collecting data have declared the season highly successful.

"Through the efforts of Michigan State University, 200 sturgeon were netted, tagged and cataloged," said Dr. Kim Scribner, lead sturgeon researcher with MSU. "Additionally, our research team collected eggs and milt from numerous sturgeon to raise in our newly developed streamside hatchery."

The MSU team has also been working long nights collecting newly hatched larval sturgeon that have begun drifting downstream from the spawning areas and transferring them to the rearing facility.

The hatchery, a collaborative effort by Tower-Kleber Limited Partnership, MSU and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, is now home to between 5,000 and 6,000 newly hatched sturgeon, which are destined to be stocked in Black Lake.

Data indicated that of the 200 sturgeon netted and released during this spring's spawning season, 46 were sturgeon never before captured, while the remainder were recaptures from previous spawning season efforts. This information indicates that new generations of sturgeon are reaching maturity in Black Lake, a sign that the population is slowly recovering.

"The sturgeon effort in Black Lake and on the Black River is one that we all take great pride in," said Dave Borgeson, Northern Lake Huron Management Unit Supervisor for the DNR in Gaylord. "This program is a role model for other programs nationwide in that it involves all aspects of resource management that are necessary for recovery of lake sturgeon in Black Lake."

The Sturgeon Guarding Program, which draws upon volunteers from all over Michigan to protect the sturgeon from poaching, also saw a banner year and is rallying more help for the spring spawning season in 2010.

"The DNR's Law Enforcement Division is proud to work with so many dedicated volunteers, to protect this very valuable resource," said Sgt. Greg Drogowski, DNR Law Enforcement supervisor, who is responsible for coordinating the DNR's law enforcement efforts with volunteers in the Sturgeon Guarding Program.

"Literally hundreds of volunteers kept watch over the spawning grounds on the Black River, and we are all very grateful for the increasing level of support," said Ann Feldhauser, DNR retiree and Sturgeon Guarding Program volunteer coordinator. "We count on that and even more support in the years to come."

Brenda Archambo, who spearheads the Sturgeon for Tomorrow Program on Black Lake, also gave tribute to a concerted habitat restoration project undertaken in early May by the Huron Pines Youth Program, in cooperation with AmeriCorps.

"These volunteers did a lot of river bank stabilization and planted over 3,000 native plants at critical areas along the river to help restore eroded sand banks," said Archambo. "All in all, it was a terrific year for the sturgeon and the Black River, and it is very gratifying to see this program grow in so many new and exciting aspects."

For more information, log on to the Sturgeon for Tomorrow Web site at www.sturgeonfortomorrow.org, or the DNR Web site, www.michigan.gov/dnr. Dr. Kim Scribner can be reached at his MSU office at (517) 353-3288, and Brenda Archambo can be reached at (231) 625-2776.