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Current Status:

Dam construction has altered spawning habitat, impeded the species' movements, reduced preferred food, and altered water temperatures and other environmental conditions necessary for survival. Overfishing, pollution, and hybridization are possible further reasons for the species' decline.

Achievements:

An informal section 7 consultation is taking place with the Army Corps of Engineers' Kansas State District regarding the potential adverse impacts of sand and gravel dredging in the Missouri River. Also, a draft recovery plan has been released for public review, and the Fish and Wildlife Service is working with several groups to develop and evaluate Missouri River water management alternatives as part of the Missouri River Master Manual review. The Service recommended changes in management of the river's flow regime to benefit the sturgeon. A cooperative pilot project with the National Fisheries Contaminant Research Center (Columbia, Missouri) is expected to determine fish contaminant sources. Land acquisitions, easements, and landowner agreements associated with the development of a new fish and wildlife refuge in Missouri also should help protect habitat essential to the sturgeon.

Current Recovery Needs:

Protection of populations and habitat; implementation of an artificial propagation program; development of a nationwide program to implement recovery; research on sturgeon movements, habitat and food preferences, spawning requirements, and genetic variability; and evaluation of impacts of commercial and industrial operations are needed.

Partnerships

Army Corps of Engineers: Under a cooperative agreement with Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, the Corps is attempting to mitigate lost natural resource values on the Missouri River below Sioux City, Iowa.

Missouri Department of Conservation: Personnel succeeded in spawning pallid sturgeon at the Department's Blind Pony State Hatchery, and are now maintaining 20,000 fingerlings until completion of genetic studies by Genetic Analyses, Inc.

Missouri River Natural Resources Committee: This State-sponsored cooperative helps coordinate activities of interest to the Missouri River Basin's 10 State wildlife agencies.

Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement: This interagency and interstate partnership helps promote conservation of fishery resources within the Mississippi River Basin.

Recovery Plan Status:

Agency draft plan.