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By Louie Stout

Lake Michigan Biologist Brian BreidertLake Michigan Biologist Brian BreidertIt’s time, said Lake Michigan Biologist Brian Breidert, to begin a new chapter of his life.

The 39-year Indiana DNR biologist retired last week after spending the last 18 years heading up the DNR’s Lake Michigan fisheries team in Michigan City.

No replacement has been named as yet. Breidert’s assistant, Ben Dickenson, will serve in that role until an announcement is made.

“We have a good crew here that can pick up where I left off,” said Breidert, a 62-year-old Iowan who has made his home in Indiana since joining the Indiana DNR in 1979 as a seasonal worker.

Biologists come and go in both Indiana and Michigan DNRs, but this particular job isn’t one of those simple plug-and-play positions.

Dickenson has had a good mentor and will fill in nicely. Even so, Breidert’s steady hand at the wheel of a delicate fishery will be missed.

The Lake Michigan fishery is a fickle animal. It’s a huge lake and far more eco-sensitive than inland lakes. It demands close coordination with other Lake Michigan state fish management programs and a good rapport with the diversified angler base.

It’s unique in other ways, too. The fishery is heavily reliant on fish stockings of trout and salmon species produced in two northern Indiana Hoosier hatcheries.

Although some fish stay close to home, Indiana fish are caught throughout Lake Michigan and several of the fish caught on the southern end of the lake are non-Indiana fish.

Breidert carefully has directed the program through some troublesome issues, such as fish disease outbreaks on the lake, intrusion of invasive species, hatchery breakdowns and, perhaps one of the bigger issues, a reduction in the forage base that provides the lifeline to the fishery.

“The ever changing eco-system will continue to be a major hurdle for my predecessor,” Breidert said. “Balancing the predator/prey ratio will remain a huge challenge.”

Northern Indiana Fisheries Supervisor Jeremy Price minces no words when discussing Breidert’s value to Indiana anglers.

“When I took over I was an inland-type biologist and had limited knowledge about the Lake Michigan fishery,” said Price. “I may have been his boss, but Brian was my mentor. He’s been tremendous in that position, providing me and others with ideas of how to make things better.”

Breidert may have worked out of a Michigan City office but he has had a strong connection to the South Bend community. He started as a labor worker at Mixsawbah Fish Hatchery in Walkerton before being promoted as assistant hatchery manager at Mishawaka’s Bodine (formerly known as Twin Branch) Hatchery in 1983 and later as hatchery manager in 1985.

He helped oversee the St. Joseph River trout and salmon stocking project from the ground floor up and has been involved in the highly successful program ever since.

He also was instrumental in construction of the for the fish trap at the lamprey barrier built on Trail Creek in Michigan City in 2011. The barrier has helped reduce the flow of migrating lamprey into Trail Creek while the trap has helped simplify collection of adult steelhead that are used to produce future steelhead stockings at Bodine.

Keeping Lake Michigan anglers happy – or any group of anglers for that matter – is no easy task. But Breidert never ran from a controversy and stressed the importance of communicating with anglers and local officials.

“The fishing community has been supportive of what we’re trying to do here because we’ve been transparent with our plans and the reasoning behind everything we do,” he said. “I see that continuing with the good people who come in behind me.”

Price credits Breidert for creating that culture, noting that the Lake Michigan team has done an excellent job with education and outreach with trout and salmon anglers.

“His team has gone out of its way to attend meetings and be accessible to anglers and that’s huge for accountability,” Price said. “It would be easier to hide in the offices to avoid facing groups, but he has never shied away from it.”

Breidert’s expertise will be missed, but you have to admire him for leaving the job in good hands as he steps aside to enjoy a more relaxing life.