An annual initiative

Sturgeon take their time. With many individuals living up to one hundred years or more, it can be twenty to forty years before a female first spawns! That’s why this project is built on a long-term scale, too. Each year, 1,000 to 1,500 eggs are raised in a streamside rearing facility on Riveredge Nature Center’s grounds. There, the eggs are immersed in circulating water straight from the Milwaukee River, allowing them to imprint on the river, or in other words, be more likely to return there when they are finally ready to begin the spawning process. Ultimately, the partnership initiative is designed to last 25 years, enough time to stock a breeding population of over 25,000 fish and study the long term results (when those long term voyagers might finally return home to the river)! Perhaps the coolest part? The project is almost entirely volunteer led: amazing community members devote huge amounts of time to feeding and caring for the sturgeon and ensuring they are ready for release!