News Photo by Mike Gonzalez James Lester looks out at the Thunder Bay River from a bench on the Alpena Bi-Path on Monday.

ALPENA — A project in the works at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources could bring Arctic grayling back into aquatic ecosystems — and the Thunder Bay River may obtain some.

Arctic grayling — a fish native to Michigan — went extinct in Michigan waters in the 1930s. Montana and Alaska have the species, as well, but Montana’s population nearly suffered the same fate as Michigan’s.

The Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society said Montana took initiatives in 1995 to restore the population to a manageable level. After seeing that project yield positive results, Michigan DNR officials decided in 2018 to imitate the project to bring Arctic grayling back to the state.

Jay Wesley, Lake Michigan Basin coordinator of the DNR Fisheries Division, said it takes a long time for restoration projects to bring populations into public bodies of water and they have many aspects to consider.

“We’re building up a broodstock of fertilized eggs from Alaska,” Wesley said. “Every visit brings back about 100,000 eggs, usually. We have grayling populations that are maturing. There are some from 2019, we skipped 2020, some from 2021, and 2022.”

Wesley said the 2019 fish are maturing enough that they hopefully can start laying eggs of their own soon. Once they can, DNR officials hope to put the eggs in selected rivers and lakes, which may start in 2026.

Arctic grayling require colder waters, so the DNR prioritized five rivers to take the first batch of eggs, including the Upper Manistee River, Au Sable River, and more.

Wesley said that, once the DNR sees positive results in population numbers, DNR officials are considering placing eggs in the Thunder Bay Rivers. The river previously housed Michigan Arctic grayling and officials have considered it a contender, but not high priority.

“We have to consider climate change with some of these rivers, so we’re looking for rivers with groundwater feeding into it,” Wesley said. “We also have to consider some of the life in the bodies of water, especially if there are large numbers of brown trout. Brown trout are not good competition, because young Arctic almost never win against them.”

The Thunder Bay River would get grayling two to three years after the first tests in 2026.

Michigan tried to restore the population of Arctic grayling in the early 1980s, but failed when the fish grew confused and lost in their new habitats. Wesley said that, in the past restoration project, the state put larger, born fish into the water.

Montana’s project used fertilized eggs, and Wesley said they noticed the fish remember and go back to where they first hatched. The fish were not lost and instead retained memories of their important locations.

“We really want to reintroduce them back to Michigan,” Wesley said. “It’s ideal that we get spots for people to catch the graylings. We have a town named after them and you can’t catch them.”

Wesley said the DNR might put arctic grayling in small lakes in the Upper Peninsula this winter. He’s unsure whether or not that will happen, but said the department will notify people if they continue with the idea.

Michael Gonzalez can be reached at 989-358-5687 or mgonzalez@TheAlpenaNews.com.