Tribes consider legal options

[Lee Borgersen]

    Tribes considering legal options over Mille Lacs walleye quotas.

  Aug 17, 2016 at 5:40 p.m.

  .....
 Mark Dayton's decision to keep Lake Mille Lacs open to catch-and-release walleye fishing after surpassing an agreed-upon harvest quota could lead to a lawsuit.
Melanie Benjamin, the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, said in a Facebook post that treaty rights attorneys are assessing legal options.
This year's walleye harvest allocation was set at 40,000 pounds — 28,600 for state-licensed anglers, and 11,400 pounds for tribal fishing.

Anglers on Mille Lacs have been restricted to catch-and-release walleye fishing this season. But fish that don't survive after release count against the allocation, and the most recent harvest estimate reached nearly 38,000 pounds — almost 10,000 pounds over the state limit.

Meanwhile, tribal members did some spearing this season, but decided against gill netting walleye to stay under their allocation.

"As has been our history, the Band has kept our promise" Benjamin said in her post. "But in violation of the court order, the promise was broken on the other side. We will do whatever we must to ensure the [walleye] are protected for generations to come."

  ...
A lawsuit isn't the first option, according to Susan Klapel, the Mille Lacs Band's commissioner of natural resources.

  ..
"Obviously we're going to try reaching out to the state and coming to an agreement again," Klapel said. "There are steps to be taken, there's mediation, dispute resolution, before it actually gets to the point of a lawsuit."

  ....
When Dayton announced last week that the lake would remain open to catch-and-release fishing, he said closing the walleye fishing season "would devastate area businesses and communities." He added that the state's fisheries experts have assured him that continuing catch-and-release walleye fishing "will not negatively impact the health of the walleye fishery."

However, tribal representatives say they're not as confident about the state of the fishery. They will do their own analysis of the state's data to determine next steps, according to Dylan Jennings, a spokesperson with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

"That fish as a resource to our people is invaluable, you can't put a price on it," Jennings said. "So by the state continuing to do this, it's almost like a disregard to that."



A giant fiberglass walleye statue greets visitors to Garrison, Minn., on the southern shore of Mille Lacs Lake.


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[Rebel SS]

                               

[cookie]

what a can of worms

[glenn57]

what a can of worms

I agree!!!!!!!!!!! shoulda let bud grant take care of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[snow1]

WOW,CAN YOU SAY "FULL OF SHEET" BOYZ AND GIRLS!!! as if they need the walleye to sustain,I'm not so sure if they bring this to court that this is what our state wants,the hearing will be on the shoulders of the tribes along with court costs,great opportunity for our state to shut down the netting all together,we can only hope.

[JohnWester]

They will do their own analysis of the state's data to determine next steps, according to Dylan Jennings, a spokesperson with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

while their are at it... they should also analyze what netting during the spawn does

[LPS]

By being MN nice years ago look what it did to us.....

[Lee Borgersen]

                This Makes Me Someone needs A Swift Kick In Da     

             
                  No butts ( )                                                                                                                           about it.  This is one big pile of steaming:

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[Cody Gruchow]

Well guys it's been announced by governor no spine. You have 2 weeks left on Mille lacs. Day after Labor Day walleye season will be closed on Mille lacs.

[dakids]

http://www.northlandoutdoors.com/2016/08/23/dnr-to-close-mille-lacs-walleye-season/

[Rebel SS]

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources header
DNR NEWS – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                       Aug. 24, 2016

DNR to close Mille Lacs walleye season Sept. 6
Estimated hooking mortality harvest exceeds quota by more than 16,000 pounds

After eight Chippewa bands expressed strong concerns, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will close the Mille Lacs Lake catch-and-release walleye season on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Warm water temperatures and high catch rates on Mille Lacs during July and August led to higher-than-expected hooking mortality rates -- an estimate of the number of fish that die after being caught and returned to the water. The state’s current estimated walleye harvest is 45,276 pounds, exceeding the original state quota by 16,676 pounds.




"Warm water and hooking mortality" led to exceeded harvest...give me a friggin' break. I know what led to the exceeded harvest....

[glenn57]

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources header
DNR NEWS – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                       Aug. 24, 2016

DNR to close Mille Lacs walleye season Sept. 6
Estimated hooking mortality harvest exceeds quota by more than 16,000 pounds

After eight Chippewa bands expressed strong concerns, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will close the Mille Lacs Lake catch-and-release walleye season on Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Warm water temperatures and high catch rates on Mille Lacs during July and August led to higher-than-expected hooking mortality rates -- an estimate of the number of fish that die after being caught and returned to the water. The state’s current estimated walleye harvest is 45,276 pounds, exceeding the original state quota by 16,676 pounds.




"Warm water and hooking mortality" led to exceeded harvest...give me a friggin' break. I know what led to the exceeded harvest....

me too!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it wasn't boars fishing ability either!!!!!!!!!!!!

[snow1]

The sad part is the mortality kill is just an estimate,that and the folks fishing the lake for walleyes just couldn't keep their mouth shut when approached by the creel folks,I did not see any creel folks this summer whether off shore or at lake accesses,so I'm confused where these mortality #'s came from,same story from friends,but somewhere the DNR found out how good the bite was all summer.

[dew2]

 Everything is a estimate on all lakes from lb pre acre  to take. easy equation for a scientist.but yes estimates
 If anyone would STUDY Mille Lacs surveys from 1989 to present  eye population the fish per acre started dropping in the early 90s! Long before netting. which all studies say have no fault of fish populations dropping. Just to many variables to put a finger on why.
 Lots a people dont like someone doing what they cant so like anything they complain and dont understand then find false info and grab onto it!! an their bible!
 All lakes in Minnesota have been raped and lost the fish that were there till overfished,small lakes went first and so on up to the largest,Then the closer to large populations the faster the decline!!

[Rebel SS]

Everything is a estimate on all lakes from lb pre acre  to take. easy equation for a scientist.but yes estimates
 If anyone would STUDY Mille Lacs surveys from 1989 to present  eye population the fish per acre started dropping in the early 90s! Long before netting. which all studies say have no fault of fish populations dropping. Just to many variables to put a finger on why.
 Lots a people dont like someone doing what they cant so like anything they complain and dont understand then find false info and grab onto it!! an their bible!
 All lakes in Minnesota have been raped and lost the fish that were there till overfished,small lakes went first and so on up to the largest,Then the closer to large populations the faster the decline!!

Exactly. Look at Lake Pepin. I used to get a boatload of walleyes, stripers, smallies, every time I went there in the mid to latter 90's. Now it' the dead sea, in large part due to the silting in, but there's never been any management, even if it is a river vs a lake.  Mid nineties Mille Lacs started dropping like a stone.  Why? I dunno. For the lakes we have, I feel Minnysoda has a far too late and too lousy mgmnt program.

[snow1]

Not true dew,your confused,the walleye spawning bio mass was pretty steady until 1999 for 40 years,a few peaks and valley's over a 40 year span which is normal,in 1999 when the 8 tribe onslaught started netting the mille lacs spawning bio mass for the entire mille lacs lake was 3.3million walleyes,by 2012 it had dropped to an alarming 1.5million,by 2014 the dnr put mille lacs into a stage 4 alert on a 1thru 5 scale,just short of total collasps.This fiasco has everything to do with gill netting in the spring during spawn,the 2013/2014 strong year class is proof of this,no nets because of late ice out and poof the walleyes make a come back.

Managing mille lacs to appease the folks gill netting is just dead wrong in our times,after all we really don't know what they really take and do they really need tons of walleye to sustain? I think not,after all they still sustain with federal monies and grants plus add on top the casino monies every year,but they continue to snub they're greedy nose at us because they can in spite.

[dew2]

Snow your fully mislead by Perm or whatever name they go by now 5-6 different names for lawsuits!! Think for yerself look up the DNRs fisheries samples from 1989 to 1999.You'll find waning eye populations through the period.
 Lots a falsities spread from a few resorts and guides lead to blaming it on nets while they raped the lake for $$$$$ and laid blame on others! Even the head DRN guy said he wished he would have NOT listened to resorts an guides when he suggested lowering the take,Then got lobbied by the resorts an guides to keep the quota up for THEIR busisness Profits!!
 You know what I type of!.
 I have to say That post sounds awfully close to a perm complaint.Copy/Past UMMM? they are in it for $$ an lead a few astray!!

[snow1]

My info comes from the dnr fisheries dew,I've been at the for front of this fieasco since the beginning dew,you haven't a clue whats been going on behind the scene as your an outsider and hasn't stepped foot in my territory in years around mille lacs,Perm? where the hell did that come from? Don't have anything to do with perm,never had or will.

[The General]

Just throwing this out there but I don't think you're going to change each others minds.