My first glimpse of the St. Louis River came in 1963, while on a family vacation. Dad and I shared a love of the Great Lakes as well as a keen interest in all cargo carrying vessels. When we stopped to check-out the Duluth-Superior harbor, we had fun identifying boats by color and smokestack logos. We were “boatnerds" years before the term even existed. Little did I know, one day I’d be part of a team making decisions about this outstanding natural resource. My first job as a fisheries biologist started in 1976 with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). Excited to have the St. Louis River as part of my new territory, I couldn’t wait to get on the water. For years, upstream paper mill effluents gave fish a bad taste. Consequently, anglers usually threw their catch back. Biologists called it an “off flavor.” Anglers were more blunt with their description. When the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District began treating domestic and industrial effluent in 1978, water quality dramatically improved. Word about the improved fishery spread like wildfire. Winter weary anglers flocked to the river for the spring opener. Within two years, the walleye fishery was well known throughout the midwest. It was an exciting time to be working on the St. Louis River!
Almost overnight, there was a viable fishery which demanded scientific management or the turnaround could become a victim of its own success. We needed to find out as much as possible about the fishery. Initial efforts focused on identifying critical fisheries habitat in the lower estuary. Management agencies were struggling to find a balance between economic development and resource protection. During the spring of 1978 and 1979, WDNR gathered a wealth of biological data on northern pike. Working in the harbor had its challenges. The weight of sampling gear reduced the freeboard on our flat-bottom boat, requiring sharp seamanship skills on days with rough seas and gusty winds. Plus, the large wake of a passing commercial vessel always received our full attention.
In 1980, our focus switched to walleyes. We used an electrofishing boat to capture spawning fish upstream from the Highway 23 bridge at Fond du Lac. The spawning season allows biologists a narrow window to collect data when the greatest number of fish are concentrated in a relativity small area. While we caught and processed over three thousand walleyes, one boat and crew just couldn’t collect an adequate sample. I knew I had to develop an alternative plan. Unfortunately, I also knew I had to wait until the following spring. During that winter, I hired an extra crew so we could sample the spawning population using two boats. We also partnered with the Minnesota DNR who would be collecting walleye spawn just below the Fond du Lac dam. Between the two agencies, we hoped to collect enough data to develop a population estimate. When the spring of 1981 arrived, we enthusiastically headed to Fond du Lac. The crew in the electrofishing boat collected walleyes, transferred the fish to another boat for processing, then headed out to collect more. This pattern repeated itself all day for eighteen days. By the end of the season, we handled over six thousand walleyes!
The St. Louis River became our office, lab and lunch room. Every day around noon we tied the boats to shore, sat against a tree and devoured sandwiches. We talked about current events and sports, but mostly we talked about fish or just listened to the rush of water and the song of the red-winged blackbird. Even a cold, miserable, all-day rain produced only a bit of whining. The area was pretty much inaccessible except by boat, consequently, we were alone with the river and the walleyes. Thirty-five years later, it’s still a great memory. Truth be told, I talked to the walleyes as I went about collecting biological data. Oh, sometimes I talked out loud but mostly questions remained in my head. I wondered how old they were, where they came from, where they were going, what they ate for their last meal, and how it felt to be swimming in a clean river again. I continued this practice my entire career and I’m happy to report not a single fish answered me!
For the remainder of 1981, we searched for walleyes in the river and Lake Superior. Foggy weather often provided a challenge, forcing us to navigate by dead reckoning using a compass new information helped us answer some lingering questions. For example, these slow-growing walleyes were some of the oldest in the Great Lakes area. We called them “geriatric walleyes.” And while most stayed in western Lake Superior when not spawning, a few decided to travel - the farthest moving to Marquette, Michigan, about 370 water miles from Fond du Lac. Since we sampled the fishery a couple years after water quality improved, our data basically described a walleye population before any significant fishing mortality, providing a historical reference point for future biologists.
While collecting data on fish currently living in the river, I began thinking about re-establishing lake sturgeon. These gentle giants are indigenous to Lake Superior and the St. Louis River, but disappeared from the river during the early 1900s. While habitat in the lower harbor had been drastically altered, their spawning area in the upper estuary remained relatively unchanged. So after several years of planning, WDNR released the first sturgeon in 1983. Two years later the Minnesota DNR joined us and together the two agencies continued stocking. Because of slow growth, everyone knew it would be decades before mature fish might return to spawn. Recently, biologists found young sturgeon near Fond du Lac, indicating the stocked fish not only returned to the spawning area, they reproduced successfully. While this is wonderful news, we need to keep in mind it’s just another step in a long process of rehabilitating a degraded river system and managing a long-lived species.
Today, fresh faces, energetic organizations, and new technology combine to tackle different challenges. Community spirit is also just as vibrant now as it was in 1976. Wow! It’s still an exciting time to be working on the St. Louis River!