The goal of the project is to restore and maintain a self-sustaining river resident population of the lake sturgeon by 2025, on the St. Louis River system upstream of Cloquet. The assessment study now underway is necessary to determine the success of four previous stocking efforts.

The objectives of this study are to determine the survival, recruitment, growth rate, distribution and habitat use, and determine the best capture techniques. The assessment program began in June as the first of five surveys to be conducted this summer. Although only catfish and red suckers were collected during this first assessment, the crew is optimistic that they will soon be able to locate juvenile sturgeon.