Photo courtesy of Riveredge Nature Center
Volunteers and WDNR staff - Sturgeon Fest
Sturgeon volunteers and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff at Sturgeon Fest in Milwaukee (2025).
Nestled in the woods between West Bend and Saukville, Riveredge Nature Center (4458 CTH-Y) is a regional hub for wellness and inclusivity-oriented programming within southeastern Wisconsin’s wilderness as well as host to a number of conservation projects. One of its most notable projects is the Lake Sturgeon Rehabilitation Program implemented to protect the largest native fish species in the Great Lakes.
“They’ve been around for over 140 million years, so they’re a living fossil,” marketing and communications specialist Amy Casey says of sturgeon. The fish may grow to be up to seven feet long and weigh 250 pounds. They are an extremely important species to the freshwater ecosystem, being benthic feeders that help manage invertebrate populations, including invasive ones, and keep the river bottom clean of organic debris. “They’re kind of like janitors,” Casey explains. The lake sturgeon is also an indicator species, so its presence signals a healthy ecosystem.
Sturgeon once were plentiful in the Great Lakes and Milwaukee River. The fish hold significance to Indigenous peoples of Wisconsin, revered as protectors of wild rice and prominently featured in traditional stories, games, artwork and ceremonies. During the Second Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 20th century, the fish were treated like a nuisance and heavily overfished for their prized meat and caviar, plus their habitats were destroyed by dams and widespread agricultural pollution.
Endangered Species
All these factors culminated in lake sturgeon being reduced to just 1% of their historic population and extirpated from the Milwaukee River, and it is now recognized as a threatened species. Informed by Indigenous knowledge and various conservation efforts, Riveredge Nature Center teamed up with the Wisconsin DNR to launch the Lake Sturgeon Rehabilitation Program in 2006. It is a 25-year project because that is how long it takes for female fish to reach sexual maturity. The center’s rearing facility is a trailer containing four tanks where the fish are born and raised in water sourced directly from the Milwaukee River. Eggs are sourced from the sturgeon population of the Wolf River.
Photo courtesy of Riveredge Nature Center
Baby sturgeon - Sturgeon Fest
A baby sturgeon about to be released at Sturgeon Fest in Milwaukee.
“It has certainly been a process of trial and error,” Casey shares. “Certain years have been more successful than others. Especially in the early years, we were still figuring out a lot about the fish and the food they required and at what point in their development, and the number that could be sustained in a healthy manner per tank. We’re still learning things every year about their growth.”
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Casey continues, “The males don’t start breeding until age 10, so for the first 10 years of this project it was up in the air on whether or not it was successful. We could say we released x number of fish, but that doesn’t mean anything unless they actually are coming back to spawn. Thankfully, there have now been well over 200 fish identified from our project returning, so that’s amazing. Now we can say yes - the project is working.”
Rearing More Fish
Though there is a state cap on how many fish can be raised, Riveredge’s goal is to rear approximately 1,000 fish a year. So far, over 20,000 have been released into Lake Michigan. Each is fitted with a tag so sensors can identify when the fish pass through the river. The center then notifies whoever released that fish. Earlier this year marked the first record of a sturgeon making it through the Mequon-Thiensville passageway in Ozaukee County, the northernmost location a sturgeon has arrived, in over a century—all thanks to the project. “We actually have a photograph of the kid who released that sturgeon,” Casey notes.
Year-round, Riveredge holds 10 sturgeon in an ambassador tank in its visitor center. “They’re the thing that every person who walks into our visitor center gravitates towards,” Casey observes. “We have some cool signage that shows how big a lake sturgeon can get.”
Accompanying the project, Riveredge has launched a series of free or low-cost community programming along the Milwaukee River watershed serving as both educational opportunities and calls to action. These events include bus tours of fish passage sites as well as tours of the rearing facility. Casey contends, “You have to be curious first, then you learn to care, then you learn to act.”
Community Support
Funding for the Lake Sturgeon Rehabilitation Program comes from grants, corporate sponsorships and community support. Partners doing related work include Sturgeon Protectors MKE, Milwaukee Riverkeeper and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD). “All of our work leans on one another’s contributions, and all improve the health of the river and make it a place not only for sturgeon but human recreation and health,” Casey affirms.
Photo courtesy of Riveredge Nature Center
Sturgeon Fest attendee with baby sturgeon
A Sturgeon Fest attendee waits in line to release a baby sturgeon into Milwaukee's harbor.
Folks can support Riveredge by volunteering, donating or attending events. This Sunday, September 27 is its annual Sturgeon Fest in Milwaukee’s Harbor District (600 E. Greenfield Ave.), where folks have the opportunity to release a baby sturgeon into Lake Michigan, then join Harbor Fest happening at the same time and place where there will be food trucks, vendors, live music, family-friendly activities and more.
Casey notes that folks can protect our waterways from home by planting native pollinators in their garden, clearing their street’s storm drain of trash and organic debris, or avoiding the use of road/sidewalk salt and pesticides whenever possible. “I’m always fascinated by the dedication of our volunteers. These fish need to be fed and tended to, and their filtration system needs to be flushed, and they need to be monitored in all kinds of ways every single day. We have an incredibly dedicated corps of volunteers here every day split up in days of the week and teams. It really speaks to how much people care; we literally have to turn people away every year.”
Then on Saturday, October 3 is Riveredge’s Autumn Acoustics Music Festival featuring local Milwaukee acts Joseph Huber, Long Mama, Ben Mulwana, Whitty Remarks, Tlalok, Kenzie Pauly and Nzinga. All proceeds go to the center’s mission. To learn more, visit the Riveredge Nature Center website.
