Manitowoc River (Wisconsin)

From Great Lakes Wiki

If all goes well, the 40 miles of flowing waters of the Manitowoc River in East Central Wisconsin will be home to the endangered living fossil: the Sturgeon. In May 2003, scientists released the newly hatched descendents of the Paleozoic era (360-250 million years ago)into the river that empties into Lake Michigan. Since sturgeon live to be 100 years old and don't sexually mature to produce eggs until they're 20 to 25 years old, the outcome is yet to be told. But scientists are optimistic because of the Lake Winnebago's successful DNR recovery program where sturgeon are successfully thriving. Like salmon, sturgeon swim upstream to spawn. They are endangered due to dam construction, pollution, over-harvesting and the time required to mature. Their eggs, caviar, are a loved delicacy to many. Their food is small animals and plants sucked in through their mouths, which have no teeth. They outsize other fish in the Great Lakes region with lengths of up to 10 feet and can weigh up to 1000 pounds.

Sources:

"Back to ancestral waters', Milwaukee Journal Sentinel May 2006

http://www.uwm.edu/News/PR/03.05/sturgeon.html

The Manitowoc River region flows over 352,000 acres of rolling hills with some steep slopes. It divides into two north and south branches where it's headwaters originate in Eastern Calumet County. The river gets an average of 29 inches of rain per year and an average of 40 inches of snow per year. It is a primary agricultural region with approximately 13,000 dairy cows and corn, barley, wheat and alfafa crops. At the mouth of the river is the City of Manitowac, one of the paths of the two currently running car ferries from Ludington, Michigan.

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