The Department of Natural Resources, in collaboration with several partners, invites the public to join in celebrating the September release of juvenile lake sturgeon from the New Richmond facility into the Kalamazoo River.
The public event, scheduled to run 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Saturday, Sept. 6, will be at New Richmond Bridge County Park located at 5740 Old Allegan Road in Manlius Township, Michigan. Guest parking is available on both the north and south sides of the Kalamazoo River.
The public is invited to mark the occasion with a full day of events, including guided tours of New Richmond Bridge County Park and the lake sturgeon rearing facility, food, music, gifts, a turning of the historic New Richmond swing bridge, tribal ceremony, and, of course, the release of the juvenile lake sturgeon into the river.
Juvenile lake sturgeon were collected from the wild in May and reared in the facility until they reached 10 to 11 inches in size. On Sept. 6 they will be tagged and released into the river. Their larger size will afford them a much better chance at survival.
The rearing facility at New Richmond began operating in the spring of 2011 when it took its first batch of lake sturgeon eggs from the Kalamazoo River. It takes the work of many partners to secure funding and resources to make possible the restoration of the sturgeon population. This list of partners includes the Kalamazoo River chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish band of Potawatomi Indians and the DNR.
For more information about lake sturgeon and the rearing facility at New Richmond, please visit the Kalamazoo River chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow online at www.kazoosturgeon.org or contact the DNR Plainwell office at 269-685-6851.
