For two consecutive springs, in 2020 and 2021, often night after night and during grueling 12-hour shifts, Minnesota DNR conservation officers and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation rangers dug into riparian vegetation and watched men fishing in Pool 9 of the Mississippi River.
Often, officers would write long reports the next morning. After a rest in the afternoon, another similar shift would begin. Those fishing the Mississippi, officers learned, worked equally long shifts, fishing and traveling between the river and their homes in far eastern Wisconsin.
Years of Observation: How Minnesota and Wisconsin Officials Made a Case to Protect Shovelnose Sturgeon on the Mississippi River
