Science on Tap: Then and Back Again: a Lake Trout’s Tale of Recovery

Peter Levi and Jamie Dobosenski with The Nature Conservancy‘s Wisconsin Chapter, Ian Harding with Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Lake Trout in the Great Lakes hold important ecological, social, cultural, and economic value to the Lake Superior region. Yet their populations were severely diminished by non-native sea lampreys and overfishing and have only recently been declared rehabilitated after extensive multi-decade and multi-jurisdictional efforts. Despite this recovery, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa have found evidence that we have not had complete recolonization of Lake Trout on historic spawning shoals in the Apostle Islands after conducting spawning assessments on historic sites across the Apostle Islands. A new project by Red Cliff and The Nature Conservancy along with other partners seeks to determine why one spawning shoal complex has maintained a resilient population of Lake Trout while other historic spawning shoals have never seen recolonization after Lake Trout recovery. The success of Lake Trout recovery, and the well-being of other species throughout our region, will depend on the resilience of our freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems into the future.

Peter is the Director of Conservation Science for The Nature Conservancy’s Wisconsin Chapter. He has studied freshwater ecology and conservation science around Wisconsin and farther afield, with special interest in the ebb and flow of nitrogen and phosphorus from ecosystem to ecosystem.

Jamie is a Fisheries Ecologist for The Nature Conservancy’s Wisconsin Chapter and works on various fisheries projects across the Upper Great Lakes. Jamie has over a decade of experience working on Lake Superior and spent time with the USFWS, WIDNR, and USGS before being employed by The Nature Conservancy.

Ian is the fisheries biologist for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He has over a decade of experience working on Lake Superior which includes his graduate research and work with Tribal governments.