Press Releases

Following pressure from lawmakers, including the introduction of Representative Bergman’s Michigan SPEAR Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that lake sturgeon does not warrant a listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

“In a major victory for the First District, lake sturgeon will not be designated an endangered species, effectively keeping the responsibility of conservation and coordination where it belongs – with our tribes, anglers, and the state. This authority was always meant to be localized, and after pressure from my colleagues and I, our bureaucracy has finally recognized that,” Rep. Jack Bergman stated.

Last month, Rep. Jack Bergman introduced the Michigan Sturgeon Protected and Exempt from Absurd Regulations Act, or Michigan SPEAR Act. This legislation would exclude lake sturgeon in Michigan from a federal designation under the Endangered Species Act, continuing the successful state-level conservation program and protecting access to responsible fishing.

Modeled after H.R.7037 (the SPEAR Act which applies to Wisconsin jurisdictions only), the Michigan SPEAR Act reads, in part, “The lake sturgeon has a unique significance for the culture, communities, and people of Michigan, and especially for those near Black Lake in Northern Michigan. Conservation of sturgeon in Michigan has been a tremendous success story, with the population of adult lake sturgeon statewide rapidly increasing and more than doubling in the last 20 years in Black Lake.”

Read the full text of the bill here or read the story in the Detroit Free Press here.