Why is there no real transparency when the decisions made behind closed doors? The co-management decisions effect all residents of MN, not just the local stakeholders. If in fact Mille Lacs is being managed biologically, than net locations should be changed to reflect the changes in the lake. Politics must be taken out of these decisions!

See Mille Lacs Messenger story below

MLFAC frustrated over lack of involvement in walleye regulation decisions

By T.A. LeBrun news@millelacsmessenger.com      Oct 30, 2019

DNR shares preliminary fish population data and online survey results

The Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee (MLFAC) met Oct. 14 at Appeldoorn’s Sunset Bay Resort to hear from the Department of Natural Resource (DNR) regarding their lake management planning process and to review the results of the summer online survey conducted by the […]

Steve Johnson,  writing in Mille Lacs Messenger, weighs in on the DNR’s co-management of Mille Lacs walleye.

It’s come to this …
By Steve Johnson Mille Lacs Messenger Oct 25, 2019

I’m convinced the Minnesota DNR can no longer guarantee that the anglers of Minnesota can fish for walleye on Mille Lacs Lake for a full season–even if the lake’s population of walleye is at record levels.

So you may ask, why can’t we as anglers of the State of Minnesota partake in the long-established tradition and economically important activity of fishing for walleye on Mille Lacs Lake?

The answer is the quota.

The quota is the total amount of walleye for harvest determined by the DNR and split between the eight Bands of Ojibwe and state anglers. The quota determined by […]

Randy Thompson is an attorney for Mille Lacs County in a dispute over claims that old reservation still exists. Thompson reviews complexities in unraveling these claims despite more than 95 percent of the original 61,000-acre reservation having already passed out of Indian ownership.

Mille Lacs Band vs County lawsuit: A Legal Context 

By Randy Thompson   Mille Lacs Messenger   Oct 23, 2019

Nearly two years ago, in November 2017, the Mille Lacs Band sued Mille Lacs County, the Sheriff, and the County Attorney in federal court. The Band’s lawsuit raises issues concerning law enforcement rights and responsibilities, but it also goes to the question of whether or not the Reservation, established by an 1855 treaty, still exists. In simplest terms, the Mille Lacs Band claims that the Reservation continues to exist and that […]

The Mille Lacs Fisheries Advisory Committee (MLFAC) will meet from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.:

*** Monday, Oct. 14, at Appeldoorn’s Sunset Bay Resort, 45401 Mille Lacs Parkway, Isle
*** Thursday, Nov. 7, at Izatys Resort, 40005 85th Ave., Onamia

The October agenda will focus on DNR’s in-progress lake management planning process. The November agenda will focus on winter regulations.

Members of the public may observe MLFAC meetings, but these meetings serve primarily as a way for the committee to hold group discussions. Fifteen minutes are reserved for public comments and questions.

The committee has been active since October 2015. Its purpose is to advise the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the State of Minnesota’s fisheries management program for Mille Lacs Lake.

PERM encourages its members and concerned citizens to attend both meetings. Remember, […]

Mille Lacs Messenger Updates

Recently, The Mille Lacs Messenger has published a two-part series on “co-management” walleye regulations’ impact on the Mille Lacs economy.

They show how this “wonderful” thing called co-management has cost so many people so much. In a recent “State of the Tribe” report, it was noted casino profits were down. Duh. Fewer people in the area means fewer people stopping for food and gambling.

The whole business community in the region and going north are suffering. Home and cabin owners who are there to enjoy the lake and a few shore lunches suffer. Then, when they decide to sell, they find out that because of “co-management” their property isn’t worth much, and there aren’t many buyers.

The Mille Lacs Tribe, which has vowed to get the long dis-established reservation back […]

Joe Fellegy writes about the ongoing Mille Lacs controversy, A look at the record lake trout, MN-FISH, and Mille Lacs Outdoor News August 30, 2019. His report starts with Ron Schara’s question raised in Schara’s last Ramblings column in Outdoor News: Schara asks “The status of walleye fishing on Mille Lacs needs some kind of resolution, but who, what, when?”

Fellegy’s take was “Yes, the unethical and unjustifiable playing out of the state-tribal co-management quota system must end. And higher-ups in state government, especially the executive branch, must be held accountable.”

Fellegy continues with his impression of two DNR hosted “community conversations” about Mille Lacs management that he attended. What stood out was the “amazingly skimpy attendance” adding that it was “like a combined three-meeting total of only several dozen non-DNR folks!”

The […]

‘Limit Reached’ based on a pyramid of estimates

Well, the MN DNR has just announced that Mille Lacs Lake will be closed for targeting walleye on Sept 6.  How many times, throughout its history, has Mille Lacs Lake been closed down entirely or limited to catch and release of walleye, prior to tribal gillnetting during the spawn? Ever?

DNR/tribal co-management has once again mismanaged this great lake. When is the MN DNR going to manage this lake for ALL anglers ahead of tribal interests? The quotas are negotiated, not court-mandated, as these two parties would have us believe.

The determining factor behind such prompt shutdowns is “hooking mortality” being used as an absolute number. In fact, it is an estimate of walleye killed, based on […]

Long-expected appeal to be heard September 19

Joe Fellegy asks some great questions to keep in mind about the attempt to expand 1855 Treaty rights. This case may have far more consequences than the Mille Lacs 1837 Treaty case. This decision could bring Mille Lacs style co-management to most of Northern Minnesota lakes.

PERM stands by all treaties with the tribes as they are written.

Gull Lake netting, 1855 treaty rights case

By Joe Fellegy Outdoor News August 16, 219

Several years have passed since the on-purpose violations of state laws by tribal gill-netters on Gull Lake and by tribal wild rice harvesters on nearby Hole-in-the-Day Lake. Along the way, three judges recused themselves. The cases were narrowed to one defendant, James Northrup.

Naturally, […]