Sturgeon

Now, be honest, do you know what a sturgeon is? I didn't until last night. I went to a presentation on reintroducing the Sturgeon to the Genesee River located in Rochester, NY. It turned out to be quite an entertaining presentation. This was the September program for the local chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, of which I am a long time member. More on that later.

A Sturgeon is a rather ugly looking fish that dates back to the dinosaur era and was almost extinct. Through a collaborative program that includes the University of Rochester, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Seneca Park Zoo, efforts have been underway to increase the Sturgeon population.

It has been a difficult process for a number of reasons. Although a male Sturgeon can live up to 55 years and the female up to 150 years, they don't begin to spawn until they are 7 or 8 years old and then only about every two years.

A Sturgeon can get up to 10 ft long and 300 pounds. One picture in the presentation showed a large group of men holding up a big one with the caption, "It took 8 hours, 10 men, and 4 6-packs of beer to pull this one in!"

If you live in Rochester, the Seneca Park Zoo has a large exhibit on these efforts that appeals to both children and adults.

Now, more on the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK). The ADK is an organization with over 20 chapters and 20,000 members in the Northeast that promotes outdoor education, recreation, and conservation. I have been a member since the mid-1980s and have spent many enjoyable days participating in outdoor activities - hiking, backpacking, canoe camping, kayaking, and cross country skiing. Our local chapter meets the second Wednesday of every month from September through June and the meeting programs usually center around an outdoor topic. If this kind of thing interests you, check us out. Visitors are welcome at meetings and most activities. The website for the Rochester chapter is http://www.gvc-adk.org/

I am proud to be Co-Chair of the ADK Outdoor Expo Committee which presents the annual Expo every June in Rochester. Here you can learn about opportunities for outdoor recreation in the Rochester area. It gets bigger every year so come and join us on June 12, 2010. Come and try out a kayak or canoe, learn about bicycle repair, backpacking techniques, camp cooking, or take a hike through Mendon Ponds Park or any number of other activities.