A conservation success story: endangered lake sturgeon spawn near Alton, Illinois

America’s endangered river dinosaurs are making a comeback – specifically in a section of the Mississippi River that separates Illinois from Missouri. Lake sturgeon, a prehistoric fish once on the brink of extinction, spawned in the Mississippi in mid-April on the rocky banks of Maple Island, just south of Melvin Price Locks and Dam across the river from Alton. It’s only the third time lake sturgeon — massive, bottom-feeding fish with bony plate armor — have spawned in the area since conservationists here and across the U.S. started working to save the species about 40 years ago.