Lake sturgeon, an endangered and protected species in Missouri, live in main and side channels in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, as well as their tributaries. These fish like firm layers of sand and gravel. Over harvest, habitat destruction and pollution contribute to the lake sturgeons decline. MDC is currently restoring this species through education, research, management and artificial propagation. Since 1984, Blind Pony Hatchery, a national leader in native sturgeon culture, has raised and stocked more than 300,000 fingerlings into Missouri’s great rivers, according to MDC. (Regan Mertz/KRCG 13)
