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Mary Holleback

Mary Holleback, educator and science manager for the Riveredge Nature Center.

Photos

Holleback stands on Riveredge’s accessible pier on the Milwaukee River in August 2023. This is the river water that generations of young sturgeon have imprinted on inside the trailer before being released every fall into downstream waters connected to Lake Michigan. From here the Milwaukee River flows 19 miles east and south to Grafton, where it flows over the Bridge Street Dam, then another 19 miles downstream to Kletzsch Dam and fishway, then another 11 miles to Lake Michigan. Fifteen to 25 years after their release, the smell of these waters will call those fish that survive upstream to spawn

Mary Holleback pulls out a giant foam sturgeon used for educational programming. Riveredge has spread the sturgeon gospel to thousands of students, visitors, volunteers, families, and members of the public over the years of their partnership with WDNR

The trailer is familiar territory to Holleback and a network of volunteers who feed the fish, clean the tanks, and make sure pumps and filters are running

Mary Holleback, educator and science manager for the nonprofit Riveredge, has assisted Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in a unique program rearing lake sturgeon for the past 17 years

Content referencing Mary Holleback

A Fish Story: Why Do We Care About The Sturgeon?

A Fish Story

Why Do We Care About The Sturgeon?

How reintroducing sturgeon to the Milwaukee River connects all of us. Third story in series.

Feb 15th, 2024 by Michael Timm

A Fish Story: The Return of the Sturgeon

A Fish Story

The Return of the Sturgeon

Innovative, decades-long effort brings extirpated species back to the Milwaukee River. Second in a series.

Jan 31st, 2024 by Michael Timm

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