Service Biologist Jim McFee retreives egg traps from a suspected spawning sight on the Maumee River, Ohio. - FWS photo by James Boase

During the first two weeks of August, 2007 Alpena National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office Biologist Jim McFee joined forces with Ohio Division of Wildlife Fisheries Technician Adam Thompson to complete a qualitative habitat assessment on the Maumee River.  The Maumee River is located mainly in Northwestern Ohio and flows 130 miles from the headwaters in Indiana to the Western Basin of Lake Erie.  This watershed is the largest in the Great Lakes, draining 6,600 square miles. 

Over the past several years Service Biologist James Boase has conducted lake sturgeon research on this Lake Erie tributary with funding provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.  The research was designed to identify spawning lake sturgeon adults in the drainage.  Work was completed by fishing large mesh gillnets near the mouth of the river in early spring to capture adults as they migrate upstream to spawning locations. 

In addition to gillnets, egg traps were placed at a suspected spawning location downstream of the first fish barrier (~RM 35).  These traps are designed to collect eggs if spawning occurs in the area.  Egg traps consist of a half cinder block wrapped with a hogs hair furnace filter and marked with a bullet style float. 

Results of this work produced no adult lake sturgeon in the lower river and no sturgeon eggs at the suspected spawning location.  As a final stage of this project habitat data was collected to confirm if suitable young of the year and juvenile lake sturgeon rearing habitat exists in the Maumee River.  This data in conjunction with the previously collected gillnet and egg block data will be used to make a recommendation on the feasibility of stocking lake sturgeon in this drainage. 

Qualitative habitat data was collected on the Maumee River from the mouth to the first fish barrier at approximately river mile 35.  The fish barrier is a low head dam used to divert water to local canals.  Data collection started at the mouth working upstream in the Ohio Division of Wildlife flat bottom jet boat.  Once water too shallow for the jet boat was reached data was collected in a downstream direction using a canoe. 

At one kilometer intervals a transect was made from bank to bank.  Along each transect 3-5 ponar grabs were made to identify the substrate.  In addition to transect sampling several grabs were made at the upstream and downstream end of all islands.  In shallow areas substrates were identified by sight.  Substrates were classified by particle size (silt, gravel, etc).  After the entire length of river was completed an intensive habitat assessment was made at the suspected spawning area.  In this area transects were established every 100m and the substrate was identified by sight at each location.  Once again all islands were sampled at the upstream and downstream ends.  At all locations a GPS waypoint was taken for future mapping of the system.  During the survey 300 locations were marked and the substrate was identified.  

The data collected is still in the process of being analyzed, but during data collection it appears that the system offers a high amount of sand substrate around the numerous islands.  Sand is the preferred substrate of young of the year and juvenile lake sturgeon.  This project is another example of agencies combining efforts to help conserve populations of a valuable species like the lake sturgeon.