The 9-inch pallid sturgeon are the first to be raised at Neosho for release in the wild. They were spawned at the Miles City, Mont., State Fish Hatchery and raised to stocking size at Neosho. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provided partial funding support for rearing the fish.
Pallid sturgeon, once found throughout the Missouri River system, as well as the Mississippi River, have suffered severe population declines due to changes in their river habitats and hydrology. The ratio of pallid sturgeon to all river sturgeons in the Lower Missouri and Middle Mississippi rivers has declined from one in 20 to one in 650 over the last century. Pallid sturgeon were designated a federally endangered species in 1990.
"We are hopeful this is one of many successful stocking efforts as we try to bring this fish back," said Jim Milligan, project leader of the Services Columbia Fishery Resources Office. "But stocking can only be successful if these fish have the right environment in which to live and grow. Its our hope that with partners such as Missouri Department of Conservation and the Corps of Engineers, we can create and conserve habitats and conditions along the Missouri River that foster the survival of the rivers unique fish and wildlife resources."
Pallid sturgeon are an ancient species, sometimes referred to as dinosaurs of the river. They resemble prehistoric creatures, with long snouts and bony plates. Ancestors of the pallid are thought to have been present in the river 70 million years ago. Pallid sturgeon evolved in large, free-flowing rivers characterized by turbid water, braided channels, sandbars and extensive backwater habitats. Today, pallid sturgeon are struggling to survive in environments that have changed dramatically over the past decades. Alterations to the Missouri River for flood control, navigation, and other purposes have eliminated much of the pallid sturgeons natural habitat, and have changed the rivers flow and other conditions that the species needs in order to spawn and rear young.
"We are thrilled to partner with the Fish and Wildlife Service in this effort," said Norm Stucky, Fisheries Division administrator for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "The challenge of saving this unique species from extinction is too great for any one agency to assume alone." The MDC began successfully rearing pallid sturgeon at the Blind Pony Hatchery in 1993. Since that time, more than 10,000 have been stocked in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
Efforts to save the pallid sturgeon from extinction include producing the fish in hatcheries for release in suitable habitat. In addition to the young pallids released here today, Neosho National Fish Hatchery will be stocking similar lots of fish in the Missouri River near Bellevue, Neb., and Vermillion, S.D., to promote recovery throughout the Lower Missouri River. All these fish are marked with individually coded tags so their contribution to recovering wild populations can be evaluated over the next 20 years. Several state and federal fish hatcheries in Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri and Louisiana are also engaged in cooperative efforts to produce pallid sturgeon for supplemental stocking.
"This is an exciting milestone for Neosho National Fish Hatchery," said David Hendrix, hatchery manager. "Were the nations oldest operating national fish hatchery, and yet were going beyond the traditional fish hatchery role to help an endangered species."
Neosho, in addition to its work with pallid sturgeon, is also experimenting with ways to raise endangered freshwater mussels. The hatchery was established to produce sport fish, such as rainbow and brown trout, for stocking in lakes and streams. Neosho began operation in 1888.
Milligan said a combination of stocking young fish, restoring habitat, and reestablishing more natural river flows is essential to a comeback of the pallid sturgeon. Some areas along the Missouri, such as the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Missouri, are being managed to allow the river to function more naturally with dramatic results. The first young wild pallid sturgeon ever collected in the wild were found by biologists from the Services Columbia Fishery Resources Office in 1998 at Lisbon Bottoms, a habitat restoration unit of the Big Muddy Refuge where the river had been allowed to create a natural side channel.
Neosho will continue to raise pallid sturgeon in cooperation with Missouri River Basin state natural resources management agencies, other national fish hatcheries and the Corps of Engineers for many years to come. Many other state and federal fishery biologists will be conducting monitoring and assessment activities to evaluate the contribution of stocked fish and progress toward species recovery. Service biologists estimate that 20 to 30 years of supplemental stocking, coupled with major habitat and flow restoration efforts, will be required to save this species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For further information about programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, visit our website at http://midwest.fws.gov
