|
 (click on images to enlarge) |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
For more than a century, the upper Columbia white sturgeon has been swimming against the currents of change. Once abundant in the upper Columbia River basin, the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) population has suffered a serious decline in numbers. - (David R. Gluns/UCWSRI photo)
Juvenile white sturgeon
|
|
|
|
|
The largest freshwater fish in North America, white sturgeon can reach six metres (19 feet), weigh 800 kilograms (1,800 pounds) and live for more than a century. The upper Columbia River population is genetically distinct from sturgeon in the nearby Kootenay River system, thus providing regional biodiversity. This species is also culturally important to area tribes and First Nations.
Upper Columbia White Sturgeon Distribution
|
|
|
|
|
Sturgeon-like fish have survived 175 million years, including ice ages, volcanic eruptions, flooding and mass extinction. The causes of the white sturgeonÕs decline are not fully understood but are thought to involve construction of hydroelectric dams, changes in flow patterns in the upper Columbia River, and human development. - (David R. Gluns/UCWSRI photo)
Juvenile white sturgeon
|
|
|
|
|
While spawning has been recorded, young sturgeon are seldom found, indicating these fish are not reproducing successfully. Today about 1,000 adult white sturgeon remain in the upper Columbia River. Without our help to rebuild this population, the white sturgeon will become extinct in less than 75 years. - (David R. Gluns/UCWSRI photo)
Juvenile white sturgeon
|
|
|
|
|
Established in 2000, the Upper Columbia White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative (UCWSRI), a coalition of over 25 Canadian and American stakeholders, is engaged in an effort to bring this ancient fish back from the brink. - (UCWSRI photo)
Jumping sturgeon
|
|
|
|
|
Two groups at the heart of the Initiative are the Technical Working Group and the Community Working Group, who provide their technical and public voice to implementing and promoting a Recovery Plan. The Technical Working Group (comprised of experts in sturgeon biology, aquaculture, endangered species recovery, operation of hydroelectric dams, and habitat restoration) completed the first Recovery Plan in November 2002. - (David R. Gluns/UCWSRI photo)
Technical Working Group (bottom) and Community Working Group (top)
|
|
|
|
|
The Community Working Group (CWG) represents a range of interests. These include federal, provincial, state and local governments, First Nations and American tribes, and public and industrial stakeholders. The CWG communicates through outreach education to gain support of people interested in reversing the upper Columbia River white sturgeon's decline. - (David R. Gluns/UCWSRI photo)
Community Working Group
|
|
|
|
|
The Upper Columbia White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative brings the combined interests of government, aboriginal, industry, environmental groups, and others to the challenge of building a future for the white sturgeon in the upper Columbia River. This is a unique collaboration between the United States and Canada. - (David R. Gluns/UCWSRI photo)
Juvenile white sturgeon
|
|
