For a state that at one time was known for rivers that caught fire, Ohio has made tremendous strides in cleaning up its waterways. More good news came last week from the state Department of Natural Resources, which is seeing success in its effort to reintroduce state-endangered lake sturgeon. The project has expanded to include the Cuyahoga, Sandusky and Scioto rivers, in addition to the Maumee River.

Among the reasons for the sturgeon’s sharp decline here were dams blocking access to spawning sites and unregulated fishing. At one time, the Buckeye State had lost all known spawning populations.

With the help of water quality improvements, barrier removal and habitat assessments, the DNR determined the time was right to bring back these potential giants. (The sturgeon being reintroduced are only about 6 to 8 inches long, but these fish can live more than 100 years and grow to be more than 200 pounds.)

And so far, they have been correct. The project has seen enough success that there is now a plan to release lake sturgeon in all four of the rivers annually, with the hope that eventually the reproducing populations in Lake Erie and the Ohio River watersheds will be healthy enough to bring the fish off the endangered list.

What can we do to help? Sturgeon are among the species with its own Ohio Division of Wildlife reporting tool: https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/animals/fish/lake-sturgeon. They are still endangered and protected, so if you do encounter one while fishing, carefully release it and report the sighting.

It is wonderful to know efforts to undo human damage are helping another endangered species swim its way back off the list. Of course there is much work still to do, but every such story brings a new ray of hope.