Contacting the Office:
Julie Morin, Acting Native American Specialist
e-mail: Julie_Morin@fws.gov
BHW Federal Building
One Federal Drive
Fort Snelling, MN 55111
Phone: 612-713-5108
Fax: 612-713-5280
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Return to Tribal Grants Main Page
2006 Tribal
Wildlife Grants Program
$196,782
Menominee Tribal Wildlife Grant Program
Don Reiter – 715-799-5116
2003 Tribal
Wildlife Grants (2 projects)
$91,031
Lake Sturgeon Restoration Project
Don Reiter, 715-799-5116
$55,986
Don Reiter, 715-799-5116
Timber Wolf Reintroduction
Lake
Sturgeon Restocked Into Menominee Waters
The
lake sturgeon has been a major focal point of Menominee Indian culture
for many centuries. Historically, tribal members living in northeastern
Wisconsin were nutritionally dependent upon an annual subsistence
harvest of lake sturgeon each spring when large numbers of the fish
swam upstream in certain Great Lakes tributaries to spawn. In the
Lake Winnebago-Wolf River system, lake sturgeon were able to swim
far upstream to traditional spawning sites located on the Menominee
Indian Reservation until the early 20th century, when a pair of hydroelectric
dams were built several miles downstream of the reservation. As a
consequence of these barriers to upstream fish passage and continued
harvest pressure, lake sturgeon were eventually extirpated from the
river reaches upstream of the dams. Lake sturgeon remained a missing
component of the native fish community here until 1995, when a long-term
multi-agency restoration and management plan was initiated for this
ancient species. Each year as a part of this plan, a dozen or more
Wolf River lake sturgeon have been captured at sites located downstream
of the dams, tagged, and released in river reaches located upstream
of the dams and within the Menominee Indian Reservation. Through
2001, a total of 110 feral lake sturgeon had been relocated in this
manner to help achieve the long-term goal of re-establishing a self-sustaining
population here. Wolf River lake sturgeon relocation efforts in 2001
took place at the end of October. Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) staff electrofished and captured 21 lake sturgeon.
These included several large fish that ranged up to 72 inches in
total length and nearly 95 pounds in weight. The fish were initially
transported about 20 miles upstream in a DNR fish distribution truck
to a tributary stream on the reservation. Tribal, and Service biologists
met to tag each fish with three unique markers. As in past years,
a numbered aluminum strap tag was externally attached to musculature
at the base of the dorsal fin. This tag is easily recognizable and
encourages angler participation in lake sturgeon management by reporting
the status and location of individual fish. Next, a passive integrated
transponder tag was implanted behind the head in musculature beneath
a dorsal scute with a syringe. This internal tag should remain with
the fish throughout the remainder of its life and can be detected
electronically by state and federal biologists to quickly identify
an individual fish. Finally, an external radio transmitter was attached
to a dorsal scute, permitting tribal biologists to track the location
of each fish on the reservation and identify seasonal habitat preferences.
In previous years, radio transmitters were surgically implanted in
the abdominal cavity. However, this invasive procedure could adversely
impact the ability of a fish to later spawn, a requisite for re-establishing
a self-sustaining population here. The use of external radio transmitters
in 2000 also offered several other advantages over internal transmitter
implants, including: attachment in a fraction of the time; no requirements
for surgical skills, equipment, or anesthesia; and a reduced risk
of secondary infections. The opportunity to work cooperatively with
partners in restoring these magnificent fish to Menominee tribal
waters of the Wolf River was a great treat for all participants.
Lake
Sturgeon Survey Completed on Reintroduction Lakes of the Menominee
Reservation
Tribes,
State and Service Discuss Law Enforcement Issues
On
Mar. 18, 2002, Special Agent Ed Spoon represented the Service at
a one-day 'Tribal/Conservation Warden Conference, held at the College
of the Menominee Nation, Keshena, Wisc. Conservation Officers from
the Menominee Nation, Mole Lake Band of Chippewa, Forest County Potawatomi,
and Stockbridge-Munsee Tribes attended, along with Wisconsin Conservation
Wardens, U.S. Forest Service officers and officers from the Great
Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Spoon gave a one-hour
presentation on Service Law Enforcement policies regarding Native
Americans, Eagle Act permits for Indian religious purposes and the
role of the National Eagle Repository. Spoon also discussed the Lacey
Act's applicability to tribal lands and the need for Tribes to apply
to the Service, if they wish to set migratory bird hunting seasons
outside of the seasons selected by the state.
LaCrosse
FRO & U.S. Geological Survey Assist Menominee Tribe in Lake Sturgeon
Study
Trustees
Announce Natural Resources Damages Settlement with Georgia-Pacific
Corp.
Genoa
National Fish Hatchery Participates in Lake Sturgeon Recover
Four
thousand juvenile lake sturgeon were propagated and stocked as part
of an ongoing restoration program involving the LaCrosse Fishery
Resource Office, Genoa National Fish Hatchery and the Menominee Tribe
of Wisconsin. Historically, lake sturgeon abounded on the reservation,
until hydroelectric projects cut them off from their traditional
spawning grounds. To help remediate the lose of sturgeon populations,
adult sturgeon are being captured in the Wolf River system in the
spring, spawned and then released unharmed back into the Wolf River.
The resulting fertilized eggs are brought back to the Genoa National
Fish Hatchery, hatched and reared to six inches, and then released
back into the Wolf River in the fall of the year. The Lacrosse Fishery
Resource Office then monitors their survival and population density
to determine program success and recommend future stocking needs.
Many hatchery produced sturgeon are now being found in these stocked
waters, indicating good post stocking success.
