Joe Henry: Will Sturgeon End Up Being Managed Federally Like the Wolves?

This is not another story about wolves. Rather, this is a story about Lake Sturgeon. The connection? There is an effort to add sturgeon to the endangered species list, just like the gray wolf has been. If this would happen, the many very sharp fisheries managers and biologists within the MN DNR who have worked tirelessly for years bringing back the lake sturgeon population would lose all control as far as managing the sturgeon in Minnesota. Other states would lose control managing sturgeon in their state as well. And we, as anglers, could very easily lose the opportunity to fish for one of the largest and strongest fish that swims in fresh water, the prehistoric sturgeon.

In a nutshell, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has until June 30 to decide if lake sturgeon should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the agency to require sturgeon to be federally protected, and a judge imposed a deadline for a decision.

Others involved in supporting this effort to add Lake Sturgeon to the endangered species act are Fishable Indiana Streams for the Hoosiers, Hoosier Environmental Council and Prairie Rivers Network…READ MORE