Concurrent Sessions D: Sturgeon Passage - A Hydro Owner’s Perspective On Planning, Consultation, And Implementation Of Lake Sturgeon Passage On The Menominee River

Agriculture Science Theater, Oregon State University

Rory Alsberg (Project Manager, North American Hydro) will discuss the hydro owner’s perspective and experiences about working with multiple agencies to develop Sturgeon Passage at the Menominee and Park Mill hydroelectric facilities on the Menominee River, located on the border of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In the hydroelectric industry fish passage is typically dealt with as a compliance task within the licensing process. However, fish passage was not identified by the resource agencies as a compliance task during the previous relicensing effort for these sites in the mid-1980’s.Since that time there has been a lot of emphasis placed on restoration of sturgeon populations in the Great Lakes and the Menominee River has been identified as having the largest population of lake sturgeon in the Lake Michigan basin. For this reason, even though it is not a requirement of their current hydroelectric license, North American Hydro has worked closely with multiple state, federal, and nongovernmental agencies for almost a decade on planning and implementing sturgeon passage at the Menominee and Park Mill dams. Tasks have included creating an Implementation Team consisting of the hydro owner, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wisconsin DNR, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, River Alliance of Wisconsin, and Michigan Hydro Relicensing Coalition; creating a conceptual report specifically outlining the proposed process for providing sturgeon passage; applying for and receiving grants needed to fund the sturgeon passage projects; performing the engineering design necessary for construction of the proposed sturgeon passage facilities; and initiating preliminary construction activities. This presentation will focus on the process that has been undertaken to accommodate sturgeon passage and the challenges faced in keeping both the owner’s and agency’s best interests in mind while discussing flow requirements, invasive species, and the layout, design and operation of sturgeon passage facilities.